The Trump administration has decided to scrap its $1.8 billion fund designed to compensate alleged victims of prosecutorial misconduct, according to senior officials familiar with the decision. The move comes after federal judges moved to block the initiative, which had drawn fire from lawmakers in both parties.
The fund emerged from a settlement between Trump and the Internal Revenue Service in a dispute over the leak of his tax returns. Trump and his business had sought $10 billion in damages after a former IRS contractor disclosed his 2019 and 2020 returns. Under the settlement reached last month, Trump dropped the lawsuit in exchange for the $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund, which his administration could deploy with virtually no oversight to handle claims of government abuse. The deal also granted Trump broad immunity from future IRS audits.
Almost immediately, the proposal faced withering criticism on Capitol Hill. House Speaker Mike Johnson had signaled he planned to confront Trump about the fund during a White House meeting. Even some Republican loyalists objected to what critics characterized as a political slush fund that could benefit those convicted in the January 6 Capitol riot.
The final blow came Friday when two federal judges intervened. U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema in Virginia halted disbursements from the fund. Meanwhile, Judge Kathleen Williams in Florida, who had overseen the original IRS lawsuit, announced she would launch an inquiry into the arrangement.
Faced with judicial obstruction and mounting political resistance, White House officials signaled capitulation. "We're planning to respect the courts," one administration official said. Another described the fund as a distraction that had outlived its usefulness. "The president believes government was weaponized against people, it wasn't just him," the official explained. "But this isn't the time and vehicle for it."
The Justice Department, which had established the fund, posted a statement indicating compliance with the Virginia court order, though it characterized the ruling as problematic.
Behind the scenes, disagreement surfaced over how the fund was conceived. One official said senior administration figures had been involved in discussions between Trump's legal team and the Justice Department. Another senior official flatly denied this. "The West Wing got blindsided," they said, suggesting the arrangement had been handled largely outside normal White House channels.
Author James Rodriguez: "This fund was a legislative minefield from the moment it was announced, and the White House clearly underestimated how fast it would collapse under judicial and political pressure."
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