Who could benefit from Trump's $1.7+ billion "weaponization" fund?

When President Trump and the Justice Department settled the president's lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department Monday over the leak of his tax returns, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced, as part of the agreement, the creation of a $1.7+ billion "anti-weaponization fund," which he said would "provide a systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare."

The fund's creation is the latest step Mr. Trump has taken to enact his pledge to bring "retribution" for his supporters, after pardoning roughly 1,500 defendants who were convicted of crimes committed during the Capitol insurrection, stripping security clearances from his perceived political enemies and demanding his Justice Department to investigate them.

During Mr. Trump's second administration, Justice Department leaders have fired dozens of staff who investigated Mr. Trump and his allies as part of two special counsel investigations, one related to his alleged mishandling of classified records and the other tied to his conduct following the 2020 presidential election. They have also created a "weaponization working group" to review Biden administration law enforcement policies. And now the Justice Department will control an unprecedented amount of taxpayer money to potentially dole out to those it deems wrongly investigated or prosecuted.

A spokesperson for the Trump legal team said in a statement that Mr. Trump "is entering into this settlement squarely for the benefit of the American people, and he will continue his fight to hold those who wrong America and Americans accountable."  

After the fund was announced, ethics experts were quick to raise questions about how any claims against the fund would be processed — who's eligible to receive a settlement, and who's arbitrating the claims? Here's what's known about the fund. 

What is the fund, and how will it be used?

According to a memorandum signed by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who was also previously one of Mr. Trump's defense attorneys, within 60 days, the Treasury will move $1.776 billion to an account "for the sole use" of the "Anti-Weaponization Fund."

The fund will be overseen by a commission of five members appointed by the attorney general, which will have the power to issue formal apologies and issue monetary relief owed to claimants. One member will be chosen "in consultation with congressional leadership," the department said. A member may be removed from the commission, but a replacement must be chosen the same way the member was selected.

The department said the fund will stop processing claims on Dec. 15, 2028, just over a month before the next president is inaugurated. Any money remaining in the fund will revert back to the federal government, the department said, adding that the U.S. "has no liability" if funds are misused by the claimants. 

Who could the money go to?

It's unclear who specifically is eligible to access the funds. The Justice Department said in a press release announcing the settlement that there are "no partisan requirements to file a claim." 

If past settlements and actions by the Justice Department provide any insight, it's likely that some of Mr. Trump's highest-profile supporters and allies will benefit. 

Jan. 6 rioters — including those convicted of the most violent behavior during the attack but later pardoned by Mr. Trump — could likely apply for money, as could high-profile former Trump administration and campaign officials who were litigating against the Justice Department before coming to their own settlement agreements.

Earlier this year, the Justice Department also agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by Mark Houck, a prominent anti-abortion rights opponent who was acquitted at trial in early 2023 on FACE Act charges. His lawyer told CBS News that the Justice Department had agreed to pay him $1.1 million to settle the suit. 

The Justice Department also recently settled two claims by former Trump national security official and right-wing activist Michael Flynn, with one case settling for at least $1.25 million, a source familiar with the settlement negotiations told CBS News at the time. 

Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is also asking the Justice Department to reimburse him for legal fees he incurred in multiple federal and state investigations in the wake of the 2020 presidential election. 

Will there be oversight?

Outside of potential future litigation and legislation, there appears to be limited oversight of the fund, ethics experts said. Blanche or a future attorney general are authorized to audit the use of the fund. 

The Justice Department said that the fund must send a report to the attorney general once a quarter with details on who has received relief and what form of relief was granted. 

Richard Briffault, a professor at Columbia University Law School who specializes in government ethics, said the initial lawsuit that led to the settlement was a "collusive suit" because Mr. Trump sued his own government and settled the case between two entities he controls, his legal team and the Justice Department.

"It's not clear what — if any — kind of screening mechanism they're going to use. How they can decide who's going to get how much money," Briffault said. "Does it matter what you were charged with? Does it matter whether you were under investigation? Does it matter whether you were convicted?" 

Briffault said that without public guidelines and details of how the commission will work, "it's just kind of an open-ended slush fund."

"It's possible some of them might have legitimate claims, but there doesn't seem to be any requirement that they persuade a judge that they were mistreated or they persuade a jury they were mistreated, it's not quite clear," Briffault said. "Based on what's come out so far, it's just a fund that the taxpayers are going to pay for to cover claims by people who he thinks were mistreated by the prior administration, without them having to prove anything in court." 

Ethical concerns and criticism

The fund's creation has already sparked a litany of criticism from government watchdog and ethics groups. 

"This is the greatest abuse of the legal system in history, so far as I'm concerned," Liz Oyer, a former pardon attorney at the Justice Department, said in an interview with CBS News. Oyer oversaw the handling of pardons and clemency from spring 2022 through the first days of the Trump administration before resigning. 

Oyer said she believes there is a "criminal conspiracy" between the Trump legal team and the Justice Department by allowing the fund to be created with taxpayer dollars.

"There's no transparency. The five members of the fund appear to have total discretion to award money to whomever they choose. There does not appear to be any oversight mechanism," Oyer said, adding, "There's no process for public input. It appears that these five people have complete discretion to give away our money to whomever they choose."

The nonprofit Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington issued a statement condemning Monday's settlement as "the most brazen act of self-dealing in the history of the presidency."

"While Americans are struggling with an affordability crisis, President Trump plans to use nearly $1.8 billion in taxpayer money to pay off his friends and allies — including potentially the violent insurrectionists who attacked the Capitol on January 6th," CREW president Donald K. Sherman said, adding that it "quite likely" violates the Constitution's Domestic Emoluments Clause.