U.S. Department of Justice announces creation of $1.8 billion fund to compensate Trump allies

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump’s administration has set up a nearly $1.8 billion fund to resolve allegations that the Justice Department improperly targeted its political allies in exchange for the president voluntarily dismissing a $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. The settlement establishes an “Anti-Weaponization Fund” that will pay legal claims from those who prove they have been “weaponized” by the U.S. government.The Justice Department said there are no partisan requirements for filing the claims, but Trump and his allies often use the terms to describe criminal cases against them, including the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.“Government agencies should never be weaponized against any American, and it is the department’s purpose to right the wrongs of the past while ensuring this never happens again,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Branch.Branch, Trump’s former personal attorney who has defended him in three criminal cases, will appoint four of the five members of the commission who will decide the merits of the claims. Trump, his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump and the Trump Organization are suing the IRS, saying the agency should have done more to prevent former contractors from disclosing their tax returns to the media during the president’s first term.The returns showed Trump paid very little in income taxes over the years, The New York Times reported in 2020. Trump filed the lawsuit personally, not as president.Reuters