Trump to drop his $1.8B 'slush fund' after outrage over paying his allies: report

[groundloop]

Source: The Independent

President Donald Trump will reportedly abandon plans for a nearly $1.8 billion compensation fund designed to pay his allies and alleged “victims” of government “weaponization” after federal judges began firing back at a so-called “settlement” that got him off the hook for tax investigations in exchange for funneling millions of taxpayer dollars to his supporters.

A pending decision, according to Axios and Punchbowl, follows a federal court ruling that temporarily blocks the administration from funding or making any payments from what critics have called a “slush fund” to enrich the president’s aggrieved supporters.

The scheme has also come under heavy fire from members of Congress, where lawmakers abruptly abandoned a series of votes before Memorial Day after hitting an impasse over plans to funnel taxpayer dollars into the fund.

Last week, a federal judge in Washington, D.C. blocked the administration from “taking any further action pursuant to the creation or operation of the Anti-Weaponization Fund” — including transferring money to it, considering any claims, and mailing any checks while a legal challenge plays out.

Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-drops-slush-fund-weaponization-payments-b2987528.html

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. So he gets to keep the money for himself?

[cstanleytech]

5. Not unless the judge signs off on it.

[muriel_volestrangler]

22. No, it was going to be from an existing "Judgment fund"

Earlier this week, the Justice Department announced that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche had established a $1.776 billion dollar fund, ostensibly as part of a settlement agreement in Trump v. IRS. The fund—drawn entirely from the federal Judgment Fund, a permanent congressional appropriation used to pay court settlements against the United States—will be used to dispense taxpayer money to people who suffered from purported Democratic “weaponization” and “lawfare.” While Trump is not expected to receive compensation from the fund himself, money will be doled out by a five-member board he effectively controls, operating under procedures that need not be disclosed, with the identities of recipients potentially kept secret.

https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-president-who-sued-himself

[TomSlick]

41. That would violate the Domestic Emoluments Clause.

(Art. II, § 1, cl. 7): “The President shall, at stated Times, receive for his Services, a Compensation which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the Period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive within that Period any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.”

[Orrex]

44. I'm old enough to remember when that was a thing.

[mdbl]

48. I'm old enough to remember a Congress that would enforce it.

No such Congress exists today.

[littlemissmartypants]

2. The perpetual shell game.

[Deuxcents]

3. We should not get too excited because another grift will happen

Keep vigilant and don’t think this is the end of the slush fund until it IS the end of it. Now, for that four letter word.. NEXT

[groundloop]

8. Exactly. He's getting bolder and bolder with his grifts....

And he's not about to stop.

[Karasu]

15. Yep. Just like the Iran war market manipulation and all the unregulated prediction market and AI bullshit the regime

loves so much.

The grift NEVER ends.

[Ponietz]

4. Every Court where some of that bullshit was filed should hold full evidentiary hearings for fraud

Voluntarily abandoning one’s own fraud scheme does not absolve one from responsibility.

[cstanleytech]

6. Yup and drum roll.....this might not be something he can claim Presidential immunity to escape.

[tikka]

30. Yes He was suing as a private citizen

I just hope the judge follows up on the fraud investigation

[GiqueCee]

32. But then...

... the judge's family will get doxxed and threatened, because that's Trump's MO. He 's an asshole, but he's possessed of just enough simian cleverness to keep himself one step removed from direct responsibility. That's what Charles Manson thought, too.

[twodogsbarking]

7. I doubt this is the end.

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

16. we need to watch carefully to prevent him from transferring money to those J6ers

[eggplant]

9. will this also kill his IRS get out of jail free card?

[rurallib]

10. heckuva good question!

Something that should never have happened

[Wiz Imp]

13. Yes. There is no settement because there was never a legitimate case. The whole thing was a fraud on the court

which the judge in Florida already picked up on. She required Trump to explain how it wasnt a fraud, which ressulted in him dropping the slush fund altogether - a blatant admission it was a fraud all the time. He'll try other things for sure, but the whole IRS lawsuit was a massive FAIL and he will not get anything out of it.

[ThoughtCriminal]

24. Only if the courts stop it

My understanding is that Trump is only dropping the slush fund. I think the part barring the IRS from investigating him, his family or their businesses is WAY more important to him. I think he's hoping that by just saying "Screw the henchmen", will cool the outrage and that provision will somehow survive.

[VTderry]

43. A very good chance that the slush fund was intentional rage bait that

he would eventually agree to "drop" --- while the tax fraud free pass remained in place for him and his wretched family.

[reACTIONary]

35. Apparently a separate issue.....

Another federal judge is also investigating the so-called “settlement” agreement between the president and the IRS after Trump sued his own administration for $10 billion. The judge will determine whether Trump filed a “frivolous lawsuit for the sole purpose of forcing a settlement” to create a fund for his political allies while the president, his family and their businesses escape government scrutiny for tax debts over which they have been under investigation for more than a decade.

[patphil]

12. This was such a blatant theft that even some of the republicans in Congress were against it.

Not a good idea, especially in an election year; it couldn't be around during the actual campaigns in Sept./Oct., or the Democrats would have the perfect attack ads.
Poor Donnie, and he was so looking forward to skimming a huge pile of cash off the top. I bet if he had succeeded in setting up the fund that most of it would have gone to himself and his family.

Watch for a new, and less conspicuous, massive raid on the Treasury after the election.

[Akakoji]

19. It's already taking place

Dems have to keep pushing all his bull into the open Now

[nakocal]

14. Notice nothing said about his supposed tax immunity

And the dropping of the $100 million owed in back taxes.

[Skittles]

17. yes

WTF kind of reporting is that?

[sop]

31. That's what Trump really wanted, a 'Get Out Of Jail Free' card from the IRS, so his family's criminal organization

never has to pay back taxes, or be audited again. He probably thinks people will forget about that illegal agreement if he gives up the $1.776 billion.

[reACTIONary]

33. This was said....

Another federal judge is also investigating the so-called “settlement” agreement between the president and the IRS after Trump sued his own administration for $10 billion. The judge will determine whether Trump filed a “frivolous lawsuit for the sole purpose of forcing a settlement” to create a fund for his political allies while the president, his family and their businesses escape government scrutiny for tax debts over which they have been under investigation for more than a decade.

[Dog Walkers Rock]

37. Yes

My first thought also.

[Akakoji]

18. Get them to court!

He has been called on his bulkshit so now he must go back to court and explain how his suit that the DOJ agreed to drop was valid in the first place. Then, he should get fined 1 777 million.

[Aviation Pro]

20. Good, this should piss off the inbred MAGAts who thought they were going to get fat stacks

Next up, that IRS immunity that will be laughed out of court.

How's it feel to get fucked, you child raping fuckwad?

[Dr. T]

27. MAGAts got owned by the judge.

They can put that in their pipe and smoke it.

[J_William_Ryan]

21. Democrats would be correct to not trust or believe someone as dishonest and corrupt as Trump.

Trump’s illegal thug fund is completely unwarranted – no one was a ‘victim’ of DOJ prosecution, particularly Trump’s J6 domestic terrorists.

[hibbing]

23. "Allies"

You mean all the convicted criminals that attacked Cogress? Those allies? All the convicted criminals you already pardoned? Those allies? You mean all the Proud Boys your whole administration coddles? You mean those allies?

[JohnnyRingo]

25. Maybe he called John Roberts.

Most certainly WH council can apprise him of how weak his case is, but I don't think he would find an ally on the SC either. It's just too far over the line to sneak it through.

Trump hates "losing" so bad he throws in the towel and blames someone or acts like he wasn't serious.

[underpants]

34. This blew up massively in his Stoopid face

He thought the $1.776 number was cute.

Different Presidents have had big projects but they were sold as having a benefit for all. This are are purely about him. People don’t like that, regardless of what they say, but throwing BILLIONS and MILLIONS around pisses everyone off.

[Bengus81]

45. I thought it should have been $1.933

Seems more appropriate as to how this Country is being run

[JohnnyRingo]

46. You aren't thinking like him.

$1.984 would be more money.

[JohnnyRingo]

47. "Purely about him".

I don't believe one dime of this "settlement" was going to anyone not named Trump or Kushner.

Since the amount of payout, and the person(s) receiving it are cleverly ruled to be secret, he can pretend some of it went to poor beleaguered patriots who were wronged by the previous administration while he pockets every cent. "No president has been wronged like me".

He's not one known for sharing.

[iluvtennis]

26. More appropriate headline title:"Trump to drop his $1.8B slush fund to pay those who stormed the capitol on Jan 6th" n/t

[Dave Bowman]

28. To pay domestic terrorists.

[iluvtennis]

38. .. that's the right descriptor. 🙏

[Figarosmom]

29. That just means he'll find another way to channel

money to those he needs to use again.

[Initech]

36. Excellent! Fuck you Donny!

And fuck your supporters who should still be in prison!

[C Moon]

39. There are a lot of maga hissy fits right now, I'm sure.

[Ford_Prefect]

40. It is the thing that will not die. They will reconstitute it in another form when they think they can slip it by.

[LudwigPastorius]

42. Trump is counting on the Republicans lightening up on this if they hold Congress in November.

He knows what it means to take a performative stance against something to win an election, then immediately reversing yourself.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

49. MS NOW- Even if Trump kills his $1.8 billion slush fund, his IRS lawsuit headache isn't over

The controversial settlement included both a fund that has sparked a political backlash and IRS immunity for the president, his relatives and Trump businesses.

Link to tweet

https://www.ms.now/opinion/trump-billion-fund-irs-settlement-legal-jeopardy

A lawsuit is valid only when there is “a case or controversy” between adverse parties. Since Trump controls the executive branch, there was an obvious lack of adversity between a sitting president and entities whose decisions were subject to his direction. From the outset, Williams, who presides over the case in the Southern District of Florida, expressed skepticism of the lawsuit’s legitimacy. She asked the parties to submit briefs addressing whether the lawsuit was, in fact, a legitimate adverse proceeding....

Last week, 35 former federal judges filed a motion asking Williams to reopen the case. They argued that “the purported ‘settlement’ that the parties never placed before this Court raises profound questions about the parties’ candor toward the Court and manipulation of the judicial system, which threatens to undermine confidence in the administration of justice.” The settlement is “a fraud on the Court,” they wrote.

Two days after the 35 former judges filed their motion, Judge Williams issued an order in response. The court, she wrote, “is empowered to investigate serious misconduct as a collateral issue” and to determine whether the suit was filed for an “improper purpose.”

Among the key points in her order:

the grant of IRS immunity did not relate “to the immediate subject matter of the claim,” which was the leak of Trump’s tax information;

the IRS and the U.S. Treasury “did not ‘even try to defend against” Trump’s claims, despite actively opposing “nearly identical claims in other litigation”;

and, as the former judges had argued, Trump’s claims were “clearly untimely” and barred by the expired statute of limitations.

Williams ordered Trump, the IRS and the U.S. Treasury to respond by June 12 on: “(1) the charges of collusion and whether the Parties are truly adverse; (2) the assertion that the dismissal in this case was premised on deception by the Parties; and (3) the question of whether the case should be reopened because the Court was the ‘victim of a fraud.’”

So here is Trump’s quandary: He must answer Williams’ questions with facts. He cannot simply submit a memorandum filled with platitudes denying collusion or dismissing the matter as a witch hunt. The court will likely expect sworn affidavits setting out facts to support any defense that there was no collusion and no deception.

The judge will almost certainly expect Trump, the named plaintiff, to submit an affidavit himself responding to all three of Williams’ inquiries.

Whatever is filed in response to the court’s order could raise additional issues, which could lead to an evidentiary hearing with witnesses. Matters not fully addressed in the affidavits or that otherwise remain ambiguous would need to be explored, with Williams empowered to assess credibility firsthand.....

Because we have an independent judiciary and judges committed to the rule of law, Trump could remain accountable for fraud or other misdeeds he may have committed in pursuing his lawsuit against the IRS or the settlement. Jettisoning the controversial fund doesn’t automatically end Judge Williams’ inquiry.

Even if trump drops the slush fund part of the case, Judge Williams will need to still hold a hearing on the IRS immunity issue and trump may have to testify by either affidavit or in person. This hearing will be fun to watch