On May 18, the Justice Department announced the creation of a nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate people who claim the federal government was weaponized against them.

The fund was created alongside President Donald Trump dropping his own lawsuit against the IRS, in which he sought as much as $10 billion after a contractor leaked his tax returns in 2019.

Trump’s settlement with the IRS raises a host of concerns, most notably that the people overseeing the fund have every incentive to act in the president’s political interest.

Trump's interests cannot be separated from this fund

Trump claims he had nothing to do with the creation of the fund, but it emerged directly from the settlement of his lawsuit against the IRS. The fund will be administered by a five-person panel appointed by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, whose members can ultimately be removed by Trump himself.

This is a fund with no congressional oversight resolving........

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