Lies + More Lies= $1.8 Billion

The DOJ’s “anti-weaponization fund: a federally sanctioned mechanism for settling political scores at taxpayer expense.

The recent announcement by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche that he has established an “anti-weaponization fund” in exchange for the Trump family dropping its collective lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is a horrible misuse of authority in its own right. The announcement itself is a Kafkaesque grotesquerie that deserves a spot in the George Orwell Ministry of Truth wall of shame.

The Department of Justice states that the Trump family enterprise has agreed to drop its $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS. In addition to the creation of the “anti-weaponization fund,” the Trump family enterprise will receive a formal apology, though no money, and will also withdraw two multi-million dollar administrative claims, including for damages resulting from “the unlawful raid of Mar-a-Lago and the Russia-collusion hoax.”

The Acting Attorney General approved that message? A search based on a warrant issued by a federal court judge based on probable cause that allowed the Government to attempt to recover boxes of classified documents scattered all over a private dwelling, is suddenly an “unlawful raid?” And sorry, Todd, but the Russians really did interfere in the 2016 election. All you need to do is read the Intelligence Community Assessment. If you don’t believe that, here is a link to the Senate Intelligence Committee Report that was issued by your current colleague, then Senator Marco Rubio.

While the entire DoJ statement could have been written by Kim Jung Un’s propaganda machine, here’s the heart of the matter:

“The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this Department’s intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “As part of this settlement, we are setting up a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress.”

“The use of government power to target individuals or entities for improper and unlawful political, personal, or ideological reasons should not be tolerated by any Administration,” said Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter.

Since the “anti-weaponization fund” is open to all victims of weaponization and “there are no partisan requirements to file a claim,” who will be first in line? Former FBI Director James Comey? Or maybe his daughter, Maurene Comey, who was fired from her job as a highly respected and competent Assistant US Attorney in New York for, well, being Jim Comey’s daughter? New York Attorney General Leticia James? Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell? Numerous innocent US citizens who have been subjected to Kavanaugh stops? The Ukrainian whistleblower? FBI officers who were fired by the current FBI Director for having worked on the Trump classified documents case? Department of Justice lawyers fired for having prosecuted the now-pardoned and soon-to-be-compensated January 6 insurrectionists? The Black and female flag officers driven out of the military by the current Secretary of Defense? The line will likely get longer as the Retribution Train continues to chug along. After all, there is still a long time between now and when the fund self-terminates on December 28, 2028. (Very clever of you, Todd).

In a statement that reeks of falsehoods, there is one other claim that should not be allowed to pass under the radar. Incredibly, the DoJ statement asserts that the Keepseagle case sets a legal precedent for the Trump slush fund, asserts that “the Obama Administration created a $760 million fund to redress various claims alleging racism against the federal government over a period of decades,” and then blames the Obama Administration for the way in which the funds were distributed.

The Keepseagle case was a litigation that started in 1999 when Native American farmers filed a lawsuit claiming they were victims of decades of discrimination by the Department of Agriculture. Congress in 1999, on a bipartisan basis, waived the statute of limitations for these specific claims, which ultimately became a class action. The settlement of the suit was overseen by Federal District Court Judge Emmitt Sullivan, who also oversaw the disposition of funds. The issue was fully litigated and affirmed by the Court of Appeals. Not exactly a binding precedent for a slush fund established and controlled exclusively by the Executive branch.

There is no court overseeing any of this. This entire legal charade was done to ensure that no federal judge would even have a chance to review the “anti-weaponization fund.” Instead, the Acting Attorney General appears to be so desperate to stand in Pam Bondi’s shoes that he has turned the Department of Justice into the President’s personal revenge unit and has taken the further step of making nearly $1.8 billion in taxpayer dollars available to a gaggle of convicted felons to compensate them for their criminal acts

James Petrila spent over thirty years as a lawyer in the Intelligence Community, working at the National Security Agency and, for most of his career, at the Central Intelligence Agency. He has taught courses on counterterrorism law and legal issues at the CIA at the George Washington University School of Law. He is currently a senior advisor to the Institute for the Study of States of Exception and is a member of The Steady State..

Founded in 2016, The Steady State is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization of more than 400 former senior national security professionals. Our membership includes former officials from the CIA, FBI, Department of State, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security. Drawing on deep expertise across national security disciplines, including intelligence, diplomacy, military affairs, and law, we advocate for constitutional democracy, the rule of law, and the preservation of America’s national security institutions.