The US Justice Department announced a $1.776bn "Anti-Weaponization Fund" on Monday to compensate allies of President Trump who allege they were unfairly investigated under the Biden administration, created in exchange for 
Trump dropping a $10bn lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns. The plaintiffs, including Trump's elder sons and the Trump Organization, will receive a formal apology but no monetary compensation, the BBC reported. Democrats called the arrangement a "slush fund" paid out of taxpayer money for the president and his allies.
The fund will be overseen by five commissioners, four appointed by and removable through the attorney general, with a fifth named in consultation with congressional leadership, the Guardian reported. There is no requirement that the fund's work be made public, and a quarterly confidential report on payments goes to the attorney general; participants in the 2021 Capitol riot who were pardoned by Trump and others claiming partisan investigation will be able to submit claims, the BBC reported.
The settlement came two days before a 20 May deadline in which the judge had asked both sides whether a legitimate legal dispute existed, given that Trump now oversees the IRS through his administration. Legal experts asked to file an analysis last week called the suit "unprecedented," writing that a sitting president was seeking monetary damages from an executive agency he controls, the BBC reported. As part of the agreement Trump will also drop damages claims over the Mar-a-Lago raid and the 2016 Russia investigation, with any money left at the end of his term returned to the federal government, the Guardian reported.
Figures referenced: Donald Trump. — JudgeMarket.
