"The Department of Justice announced that it was creating a nearly $1.8 billion slush fund to compensate Trump supporters who have been “mistreated” by previous Democratic administrations. The fund is clearly an effort to offer a financial reward to January 6 insurrectionists—who have already been pardoned by Trump. The program amounts to a white grievance fund paid for with money stolen from the public."
"The fund was announced as part of a “deal” Trump made to dismiss his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS. Trump had accused the IRS of illegally leaking his tax returns. The Trump administration seems to want people to report these two events as if they are linked—the DOJ has framed the slush fund as a way to “hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare”—but, in reality, they are connected only by the fact that they are both ways for Trump to try to steal money from the government."
"The IRS lawsuit would have been thrown out of court if Trump had not dismissed the case. Trump controls the IRS and the Treasury Department. To the extent the IRS did anything wrong (and the IRS didn't do anything wrong), Trump's case against them should have been moot as he now oversees the agency. There cannot be a “case or controversy” for the courts to adjudicate when one party controls both sides of the litigation. “Trump v. Trump” is not a case."
"One way to look at it is that Trump is effectively setting up a mechanism where taxpayers have to pay for him to funnel money to his own private army. The people who participated in the January 6 insurrection are literal criminals who acted on Trump's behalf and were then pardoned by him—only to now be offered taxpayers dollars for their violent efforts. It's... insane."
The Department of Justice announced a nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate Trump supporters described as having been mistreated by prior Democratic administrations. The program is presented as a “deal” connected to Trump dismissing a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over alleged illegal leaking of tax returns. The fund is characterized as a financial reward for January 6 participants who were pardoned by Trump. The IRS lawsuit is described as lacking a live legal controversy because Trump controls the IRS and Treasury, making adjudication impossible. The DOJ fund is portrayed as a mechanism for taxpayers to pay money that benefits Trump and his allies, including people involved in violent actions.
#department-of-justice #taxpayer-funded-compensation #january-6-pardons #irs-lawsuit #political-grievance-fund
Read at The Nation
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