Apologies and cash headed to alleged ‘weaponization’ victims in billion-dollar Trump settlement
The Justice Department has created a $1.776 billion fund for people who allege they were victims of federal government "lawfare" as part of a settlement agreement in President Donald Trump’s...
By Fox News · Fox News
The Justice Department has created a $1.776 billion fund for people who allege they were victims of federal government "lawfare" as part of a settlement agreement in President Donald Trump ’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. The Anti-Weaponization Fund creates a formal process for Americans alleging they were targeted through politically motivated actions by the Justice Department under previous administrations. The program is set to expire a month before the end of Trump’s second term. The fund was created as part of an agreement for Trump and his sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., to drop the $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS they filed in January. "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," Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. "As part of this settlement, we are setting up a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress." NEW YORK DEFENSE ATTORNEY ARGUES LEGAL SYSTEM WAS WEAPONIZED AGAINST TRUMP Trump and his sons are ineligible to receive compensation from the fund but will receive a formal apology, according to the Justice Department. Trump also agreed to withdraw two additional claims for damages, one stemming from the "unlawful" FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago and the other related to the "Russia-collusion hoax," in which Obama officials are accused of manipulating intelligence reports on Russia's interference in the 2016 election. The Justice Department is investigating former CIA Director John Brennan based on allegations that he lied to Congress about the resources the CIA used to craft its intelligence report on Russian interference in the 2016 election. The fund will have the authority to issue formal apologies and financial compensation to claimants. Funding will come from a permanent congressional appropriation that allo…