A $1.776 billion fund created as part of a settlement between President Trump and the Justice Department will be used to pay out claims from people who say they were wrongly investigated or prosecuted by the federal government, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Monday.
The settlement resolved Trump's lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department over the leak of his tax returns. As part of the agreement, the Treasury Department will move $1.776 billion into an account described as being for "the sole use" of what Blanche called the "Anti-Weaponization Fund," according to a memorandum he signed. Blanche previously served as one of Trump's personal defense attorneys.
A spokesperson for the Trump legal team said in a statement that Trump "is entering into this settlement squarely for the benefit of the American people, and he will continue his fight to hold those who wrong America and Americans accountable."
The fund will be overseen by a five-member commission appointed by the attorney general. One member will be chosen "in consultation with congressional leadership," the department said. The commission will have the power to issue formal apologies and monetary relief to claimants. Members can be removed, but replacements must be chosen the same way the original member was selected.
According to CBS News, the fund will stop processing claims on December 15, 2028, just over a month before the next presidential inauguration. Any money left in the fund at that point will revert to the federal government. The department stated the U.S. "has no liability" if funds are misused by claimants.
The creation of the fund follows a series of steps taken during Trump's second administration targeting what the administration has characterized as politically motivated law enforcement. The Justice Department fired dozens of staff who had investigated Trump and his allies as part of two special counsel investigations, one related to alleged mishandling of classified records and the other tied to his conduct after the 2020 presidential election. The department also created a separate "weaponization working group" to review Biden administration law enforcement policies.
The fund is also the latest move connected to Trump's stated pledge to bring "retribution" for his supporters. He previously pardoned roughly 1,500 defendants convicted of crimes committed during the Capitol insurrection and stripped security clearances from perceived political enemies while directing the Justice Department to investigate them.
After the fund was announced, ethics experts raised questions about how claims would be processed, who would be eligible to receive settlements, and who would arbitrate the claims. Those questions had not been publicly answered as of Monday.
