Have We Ever Seen Anything Like This?' CNN Panel Stunned By Trump Slush Fund to Pay Out Allies

"The Department of Justice announced the fund on Monday after dropping his $10 billion suit against the IRS for failing to protect Trump from press leaks. Now, they say there's no partisan requirement here, but it's clear who the target audience is, said CNN chief legal affairs correspondent Paula Reid. The president's team, they continue to point to what they say is a similar fund that was established under the Obama administration, Reid said."

"This was the Keepseagle Fund. Now, that was a much smaller fund that was only $760 million, but that was to address various claims alleging racism connected to the Department of Agriculture. So we're talking about a much larger group of potential victims and a much smaller fund. But that's what they keep pointing to. Have we ever seen anything like this in the history of this country? asked host Dana Bash. No, Reid answered."

"I want to know, first of all, the people at the negotiating table were President Trump's personal lawyers and the lawyers from the White House, the Justice Department, and the IRS all part of his administration. There was no outside voice. Look, we know this is going to have a political consequence, Reid continued. There's already political blowback from Democrats, but there's going to be a lot of litigation around this."

"Special correspondent Jamie Gangel added, The attorney general is going to appoint five people who will oversee this fund if it goes forward if the courts don't stop it. Todd Blanche is the acting attorney general. He wants to be the attorney general. So you can be sure this money is to go to Trump allies, that the five people that Todd Bla"

The Department of Justice announced a nearly $1.8 billion taxpayer-backed fund intended to support allies who say they were wronged by the Biden administration. The announcement followed the dropping of a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over alleged failures to protect Trump from press leaks. The fund is presented as having no partisan requirement, but its intended beneficiaries are widely viewed as aligned with Trump. Comparisons were made to a smaller Obama-era Keepseagle Fund, which addressed claims tied to racism connected to the Department of Agriculture. Concerns were raised about the lack of outside voices in negotiations and the likelihood of litigation, including possible Supreme Court review. Oversight would be handled by five appointees selected by the attorney general.

Read at www.mediaite.com