WASHINGTON – In response to President Donald Trump settling his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS on Monday in exchange for a $1.776 billion fund to compensate those who claim they were targets of government "weaponization," and new reporting that the IRS will also be barred from pursuing tax claims against Trump, his family, or his businesses, Traci Feit Love, Founder and Executive Director of Lawyers for Good Government, issued the following statement:
“President Donald Trump’s $1.776 billion ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ and shield against future IRS tax claims for himself, his family, and his businesses, is one of the most brazen abuses of presidential power in American history. As attorneys, we cannot stay silent.
“After filing a $10 billion lawsuit against his own administration—a lawsuit that independent legal experts concluded was meritless—this White House rushed to settle behind closed doors with a Justice Department currently led by Todd Blanche, Donald Trump's former personal attorney. The result: a nearly $1.8 billion fund, built with taxpayer dollars, controlled by five appointees who serve at the president's pleasure, with no oversight, no transparency, and no public accountability. Its sole purpose is to reward Trump's allies, cronies, and the more than 1,600 people charged in connection with the January 6th attack on the Capitol.
“The Department of Justice exists to defend the public interest, not the personal and political interests of the president. This ‘settlement’ is thinly-veiled theft to pay for legal claims that lack any validation. It is flatly inconsistent with DOJ policies, violates the authorizing statute for the Judgment Fund, violates the Anti-Deficiency Act, and usurps Congress’s Spending Power.
“Todd Blanche has a fiduciary duty to protect taxpayer money from false and fraudulent claims. He abandoned it, and in doing so, betrayed every American whose tax dollars he handed away.
“Our Constitution and democracy was founded on the principle that the law must apply equally to everyone, including, and especially, those in power. The rule of law means nothing if the president can direct a loyalist Justice Department to enrich himself and his allies using our money.
“We call on Congress to act without delay—condemn this settlement, exercise vigorous oversight through hearings and subpoenas, and take all available measures to block this ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ from making a single payment. Every member of Congress must go on record. The American people are watching, including Lawyers for Good Government’s 125,000 attorneys across the country.
“The DOJ belongs to the people. Not to the president. Not to his allies. Not to insurrectionists. We will not stop fighting until that principle is restored.”