Sarah Fitzpatrick writes:

Shortly after Trump took office for the second time, the White House asked the Justice Department and Trump’s legal advisers to find a way to reimburse him and those close to him for the millions of dollars in legal expenses he has incurred, including over the Mueller probe into his campaign’s relationship with Russia as well as multiple impeachments and criminal investigations. That effort was later combined with a separate but related push by Trump supporters to pursue financial restitution for those convicted of crimes related to January 6, providing a broader context for a massive transfer of taxpayer dollars from the government to those who have been charged with, and in many cases convicted of, federal crimes.

On May 18, Blanche announced the establishment of a $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund as part of a settlement to a suit brought by Trump, his sons, and the Trump Organization against the IRS and Treasury Department. The settlement resolved claims related to the disclosure of Trump’s tax returns, and a subsequent addendum barred the IRS from auditing the tax returns of Trump, his family, and his businesses. A DOJ press release highlighted Blanche’s central role in the fund’s creation and administration, explaining that he would appoint a five-member commission to decide who would get paid, and how much. The president was given the authority to remove any of the commission’s members. “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,” Blanche said at the time.

The announcement provoked bipartisan criticism. Democrats pointed out that the fund could be used to pay January 6 defendants who had assaulted police officers. Some Republican critics said the same, while noting that the political optics of paying taxpayer money to presidential allies would be terrible for the party at a time of rising gas prices and other costs. Tillis derided the fund as a “payout for punks.”

Under pressure from fellow Republicans, the administration backed off the plan—but never renounced it. One DOJ official and one political strategist close to the White House told me that that officials there didn’t think the fund was a bad idea; they just regretted that the rollout, which had been intended in part as a way of shoring up Republican support ahead of the midterm elections, had been too public and invited too much scrutiny. They hoped to do things more quietly in the future—and those who are seeking money from the government say that’s exactly what’s happening.

“Right now, you have to be an insider to know who to talk to,” one attorney who had advised multiple individuals seeking compensation told me. One Republican former member of Congress told me that he and others had been assured that the administration’s public statements about the weaponization fund being abandoned were “all part of the plan; nothing has changed.” One Justice Department official and two Republican political advisers told me that public backing for the fund was dropped to clear the way for Blanche’s confirmation, but that they had been promised that payments would eventually be made to January 6 defendants, pardon recipients, and those close to the president. “Trump didn’t want to fight this out in public,” the official told me.

Justice Department officials are still figuring out the exact mechanisms by which people who seek compensation can be paid. Officials told me that those who believe they were victims of a weaponized government may ultimately need to file lawsuits so they can then receive settlements from a previously established Justice Department fund. Suing the government is not a new idea. But typically the government looks for ways to defend itself; in this case, officials are exploring proposals to facilitate litigation and to expedite payments without requiring an expensive and lengthy process that might draw attention. One former DOJ official told me that discussions are happening about how to provide legal support at scale to those who want to file lawsuits. “They’ll sue, and they’ll settle,” the former official said of the plan. [Continue reading…]