Democratic Senate Judiciary Committee Members Demand Immediate Investigation Into $1.8 Billion Trump Administration Settlement Fund
WASHINGTON D.C. (KEYT) – California's Senate delegation joined every Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee in demanding that the acting Inspector General launch an immediate investigation into the Trump Administration's nearly $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund.
"We write to request that you immediately initiate an investigation into the creation of the nearly $1.8 billion 'Anti-Weaponization Fund' announced by the Department of Justice on May 18, 2026, from a settlement agreement in Trump v. Internal Revenue Service (IRS)," opened the letter to acting Inspector General William Blier. "This slush fund represents waste, fraud, and abuse of an unprecedented magnitude and must be subjected to independent scrutiny."
The group of ten Senators noted that the root of the dispute in Trump v. IRS involved the President of the United States filing a lawsuit against his own administration, something the presiding judge noted during court proceedings earlier this year, and initially included a demand for $10 billion in damages regarding the improper access and sharing of the plaintiff's tax returns by an IRS contractor.
"[T]he President sued his own Administration, naming the personnel he directs as defendants," detailed the letter to acting Inspector General Blier. "Reflecting this very concern, the judge presiding over the case scheduled a hearing for May 27, 2026, to consider whether there was sufficient adverseness between the parties involved for the case to proceed."
Before that late May hearing in the Southern District of Florida, the Department of Justice announced a settlement of the President's claims, which included two of his sons and the Trump Organization LLC., on May 18.
"The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this Department's intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again," stated acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in a press release about the agreement. "As part of this settlement, we are setting up a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress."
According to the settlement agreement, "the United States shall provide the U.S. Department of the Treasury with all necessary forms and documentation to direct a payment of $1,776,000,000 to an account for the sole use by the Anti-Weaponization Fund. The corpus of the Anti-Weaponization Fund's funding does not represent the value of any claim by Plaintiffs, but rather is based on the projected valuation of future claimants' claims."
The Department of Justice explained in a press release the same day as the announcement of the settlement that the Anti-Weaponization Fund, "will have the power to issue formal apologies and monetary relief owed to claimants. Submission of a claim is voluntary. There are no partisan requirements to file a claim", but the Fund's disbursement decisions ultimately come down to a five-member board that, "will consist of five members appointed by the Attorney General. One Member will be chosen in consultation with congressional leadership. The President can remove any member, but a replacement must be chosen the same way as the replaced member was selected."
Funding for the Anti-Weaponization Fund comes from the Department of Treasury's Judgment Fund, a permanent and indefinite Congressionally-approved appropriation created in 1956, traditionally pays out settlements and court judgements against the federal government.
The Trump Administration previously expanded the role that the Judgment Fund plays in federal payments by issuing payments from the Judgment Fund to offshore wind energy companies to not pursue wind energy projects that are characterized by Administration officials as refunds.
That novel federal outlay without Congressional approval and not subject to judicial oversight is now under a bicameral Congressional investigation as well as multiple Freedom of Information Act requests by Your News Channel.
"[T]hese tax dollars [for the Anti-Weaponization Fund] are set to go to whomever President Trump pleases; there are no limitations on individuals affiliated with the President receiving payments from the Fund," argued the letter from members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "Not only is the baseless partisan nature of the Fund egregious in and of itself, but the Fund has no limits on payouts to individuals convicted of violent crimes, including, for instance, the President's supporters who were convicted of assaulting law enforcement officers on January 6, 2021, at least one of whom has gone on to commit further horrendous crimes empowered by his belief in future monetary restitution from the Trump Administration."
According to the Department of Justice, the Anti-Weaponization Fund will send a quarterly report to the Attorney General, "outlining who has received relief and what form or relief was awarded" and expects to begin processing claims "no later than December 1, 2028."
That limited oversight of the Fund's decisionmakers and payments was noted by members of the Senate in their letter.
"President Trump and his appointees have virtually complete discretion over the Fund's structure and who gets payouts," stated the letter from Senate Democrats to acting Inspector General Blier. "According to DOJ, the Fund's rules and procedures may be shielded from the public at the discretion of the Fund's commissioners. The only person who will receive information about who has received a payout is the Attorney General—provided in a confidential report that is shielded from public scrutiny [Section IV § C of the agreement]. As part of this settlement, the President was also granted immunity from pending and future tax liability [Section III § B of the agreement]. This blanket immunity wipes away the potential for a $100 million tax penalty."
Both the settlement agreement and the Department of Justice press release argued that the $1.8 billion disbursement fund is comparable to a settlement in the Keepseagle case during the Obama Administration.
In that case, the Department of Justice settled claims filed initially in 1999 by Native American farmers who alleged that the Department of Agriculture had failed to respond to reports, including one from the agency's Office of Inspector General, that found years-long, widespread discriminatory lending practices by the Department's Farm Service Agency.
The Keepseagle settlement in 2011 created a $680 million compensation fund for plaintiffs and a federal judge approved an agreement amongst plaintiffs to modify the payment system in December of 2015.
"The use of government power to target individuals or entities for improper and unlawful political, personal, or ideological reasons should not be tolerated by any Administration," Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter stated regarding the creation of the Anti-Weaponization Fund.
"This settlement agreement and the fund it creates demand accountability," argued Democratic Judicial Committee members. "The Fund's structure, secrecy, and lack of payout criteria, and general arbitrariness, fall well within your [Office of Inspector General for the Department of Justice] authority."
"We request that the Office of the Inspector General launch an immediate, thorough, and quick investigation," concluded the letter to acting Inspector General Blier. "Please also notify our offices by June 2, 2026 of your decision."
"I do think the best way to handle it is if the administration decides to shut it down themselves," Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Monday morning regarding the Anti-Weaponization Fund.
On Monday afternoon, the Department of Justice agreed on social media to abide by a U.S. District Court judge's decision halting the implementation of the Anti-Weaponization Fund.
The Department of Justice disagrees strongly with the decision on the Anti-Weaponization Fund put forth by the United States District Court Judge in the Eastern District of Virginia, wherein the Court stated that, under no circumstances, may the Department of Justice proceed with…
— U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) June 1, 2026
District Judge Leonie Brinkema issued the order on Friday that temporarily stopped the Justice Department from moving forward with the stipulations in the agreement in Trump v. IRS.
"We will not allow the policy preferences of judges to interfere with our efforts to provide restitution to victims of lawfare," a Department of Justice spokesperson told CBS News Friday.
"This [federal court decision] is a victory for transparency, the rule of law, and the American people," argued Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, which is representing plaintiffs in the case opposing the Anti-Weaponization Fund, Friday. "No administration has the authority to spend public money through a political rewards program that Congress never authorized."
