After Trump Drops Lawsuit, Feds Announce $1.8B Fund

A nearly $1.8 billion payout pool is coming out of the Justice Department—and critics say it's aimed squarely at helping President Trump's allies. The Trump administration on Monday unveiled a $1.776 billion fund for people who claim they were improperly targeted by the Biden-era DOJ, just as Trump dropped his own multibillion-dollar lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns during his first administration, the New York Times reports. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Trump was also dropping lawsuits over what Blanche called "the unlawful raid of Mar-a-Lago and the Russia-collusion hoax."

• "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 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."
• Democrats have criticized the fund as a "slush fund" that Trump will use to reward allies, potentially including Capitol rioters, with taxpayer dollars. The Times describes Trump's withdrawal of his lawsuit as an "end-run around the legal system." By unilaterally dismissing the case, Trump removed the need for judicial approval of any settlement, clearing the way for his administration to shape the fund on its own.

• The move came days before a key deadline in the lawsuit, the Washington Post reports. US District Judge Kathleen Williams, who questioned whether the two sides in the case were "sufficiently adverse," had instructed both sides to file legal briefs on their stances by May 20 to explain whether they were really in opposition. In a filing last month, advisers appointed by Williams said the case raises "the specter that the defendants and their attorneys may instead be operating at the President's direction." They noted that since taking office, Trump "has significantly expanded the President's oversight and control over the Attorney General and DOJ, including in ways that blur the line between fidelity to the President's policy priorities and fidelity to the President himself."
• Some 93 Democratic lawmakers quickly filed court papers accusing the Justice Department of colluding with Trump, noting that no sitting president has ever sought a personal cash settlement from the government he leads.