Ever since President Donald Trump created a $1.8 billion slush fund for those among his supporters who claim to have been persecuted by the government, a host of controversial characters have applied for benefits.
“The $1.8 billion fund was created by the Justice Department in a settlement with Trump in his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns,” wrote Forbes journalist Sara Dorn on Sunday. “Trump dropped the case in return and also agreed to drop two separate civil claims related to the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago and investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The money would come from a pool of taxpayer funds Congress established in 1956 to pay people who won lawsuits against the federal government.”
Dorn added, “Trump has repeatedly claimed he wasn’t involved in creating the fund and that his lawyers negotiated it. He defended it in a post on Truth Social last week, claiming he ‘gave up a lot of money’ in allowing it to move forward, but instead he is ‘helping others, who were so badly abused by an evil, corrupt, and weaponized Biden Administration, receive, at long last, JUSTICE!’”
The list of Trump supporters seeking payouts include former Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson Michael Caputo, former Rep. George Santos (R-NY), political consultant Roger Stone, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen, lawyer Mark McCloskey, former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters, former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, Jan. 6th rioter Adam Johnson, former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich (D-IL), former Trump campaign aid Sam Nunberg, anti-abortion activists, Moms for Liberty, Michigan fake electors and numerous additional Jan. 6th insurrectionists.
The large list of applicants are there for a number of reasons. Lindell, Peters, Tarrio, Johnson, the Michigan fake electors and the Jan. 6th insurrectionists all tried to help Trump overturn his democratic loss in the 2020 presidential election. Caputo and Nunberg claim to have been wronged during the investigation into Trump’s ties to the Russian government. Santos and Blagojevich are elected officials who resigned in disgrace due to corruption scandals unrelated to Trump. McCloskey pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges after he and his wife waved guns at peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters. Still others on the list have various claims of being persecuted by the federal government for their beliefs.
In the end, all of them may be disappointed. On Friday a federal judge in Virginia has temporarily blocked disbursement of the $1.8 billion fund on the grounds that the fund may be illegal. On June 12 the Trump administration will need to appear before the court to prove that the $1.8 billion fund does not constitute a form of self-dealing.
"Because full briefing of the issue will enhance the ability of the Court to make a sound decision, plaintiffs Expedited Motion, is DENIED and defendants' request for additional time is GRANTED; however, to ensure that no funds are irreversibly disbursed from the Anti-Weaponziation,” Brinkema wrote. “Fund while plaintiffs' Motion is pending it is hereby ORDERED that defendants be and are ENJOINED from taking any further action pursuant to the creation or operation of the Anti-Weaponization Fund, which includes the transferring of money to the Fund; the consideration of any claims submitted to the Fund; and the dispersing of any funds from the Fund…’ the order says.”
The judge added in a footnote, ‘It is important that the status quo be maintained until plaintiffs' pending Motion has been resolved, especially as plaintiffs allege in their Expedited Motion that defense counsel 'was unable to provide assurances of how long [the] status quo would last' and declined plaintiffs' 'request that the government commit to not transferring money to the Fund or processing or paying claims until at least June 19 to allow for less compressed briefing in this case.’”
