Trump Desperately Tries to Drum Up Support for His Slush Fund

Donald Trump just admitted that he was, actually, involved in the creation of the Justice Department’s “anti-weaponization” fund.The DOJ created a $1.8 billion slush fund for Trump’s allies earlier this week at the same time that the president opted to drop his waning $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. Despite the coincidental timing, Trump told reporters Wednesday that he “wasn’t involved in the settlement.”In the few short days since its launch, the initiative has received significant blowback from the public, which is tasked with paying for the unprecedented cash stash. But mounting opposition from House and Senate Republicans forced Trump Friday to attempt to shore up legislative support. In a post on Truth Social, Trump put his foot down on the matter, claiming that he had given up “a lot of money” to allow the creation of the fund—but in doing so, he also blatantly admitted that he was responsible for the whole thing.“I gave up a lot of money in allowing the just announced Anti-Weaponization Fund to go forward. I could have settled my case, including the illegal release of my Tax Returns and the equally illegal BREAK IN of Mar-a-Lago, for an absolute fortune,” Trump wrote. “Instead, I am helping others, who were so badly abused by an evil, corrupt, and weaponized Biden Administration, receive, at long last, JUSTICE! President DJT.”The honeypot payments are effectively reparations, paid for by U.S. taxpayers, to virtually any right-winger that felt targeted by the previous presidential administration.The DOJ slush fund was the result of an unprecedented deal that Trump made with himself. And the arrangement came with a curious addendum from acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, immunizing Trump from further federal prosecution. The government of the United States, Blanche wrote Tuesday, is “forever barred and precluded” from pursuing “any and all claims” against Trump, his family, or his business.Hundreds of Trump’s MAGA-aligned allies have already lined up for their slice of the pie. They include MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and Republican lawmakers. A slew of pardoned January 6 rioters are also in the queue, including former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, a sex offender who bear-sprayed cops, and a convicted child molester who told his victims he would give them money from a Trump payout in exchange for their silence.Legal experts have questioned whether or not the scheme is legal at all. If the arrangement is allowed to stand, Trump will have effectively thwarted the powers of both the legislative and judicial branches, and soiled the constitutionally defined separation of power.