The Trump administration announced Monday the creation of a $1.7 billion compensation fund. The fund is tied to the resolution of President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns.
According to the Associated Press, the Justice Department said the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” would allow individuals who believe they were unfairly targeted by the Biden administration’s Justice Department to seek compensation. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche described the fund as “a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress.”
The announcement came as Trump’s attorneys filed paperwork in federal court in Florida seeking dismissal of the president’s lawsuit against the IRS. Trump filed the case earlier this year, alleging that the release of his and the Trump Organization’s confidential tax information caused reputational and financial harm.
The settlement immediately drew criticism from Democratic lawmakers and government watchdog groups, who questioned the use of taxpayer funds and raised concerns about oversight of the compensation process.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, criticized the arrangement in a statement Monday. Meanwhile, a group of 93 members of Congress filed a legal brief signaling a possible court challenge to the settlement.
The fund is the latest development connected to Trump’s longstanding claims that the Justice Department was “weaponized” against him and his allies during the Biden administration. Trump has repeatedly pointed to investigations and criminal cases brought against him following the 2020 election and after leaving office. Former Attorney General Merrick Garland previously denied accusations of political bias, stating that prosecutorial decisions were based on evidence and the law.
Trump’s lawsuit followed the conviction of former IRS contractor Charles Edward Littlejohn, who was sentenced in 2024 after pleading guilty to leaking tax information involving Trump and other wealthy Americans to media outlets between 2018 and 2020.
The leaked records became the basis for multiple reports examining Trump’s tax history, including a 2020 investigation by The New York Times that reported Trump paid $750 in federal income taxes during his first year in the White House.
