Top DOJ official plotted to cash in on Trump slush fund: report
As the future President Donald Trump's slush fund remains uncertain, a new report from Politico revealed that one of his top Justice Department officials plotted to cash in on it.The DOJ first announced the "anti-weaponization" fund as part of a settlement for Trump's lawsuit against the IRS, claiming that it would pay out to people who were supposedly targeted by the government for their political beliefs. Following a wave of bipartisan backlash to the fund, particularly over the possibility that it could pay out to Jan. 6 rioters, a federal judge in Virginia issued a temporary ruling to block its implementation, though it remains a possibility that it could be revived, even after reports that the administration was moving away from it due to the backlash.According to a Wednesday report from Politico, while the fund was still an active concern, a top official with the DOJ was planning to claim a payment from it, based on his time as a congressional staffer. The situation raised alarms at the agency, as he was set to be involved in the communication strategy surrounding the fund."The official, Patrick Davis, raised his plan to file a claim with others at the DOJ in May because he viewed it as a conflict," Politico revealed. "DOJ officials were concerned by Davis’ recusal request in part because he was responsible for communicating the department’s reasons for setting up the fund to lawmakers. Davis works as the assistant attorney general for legislative affairs, a Senate-confirmed position, and previously served as a top aide to Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa."The outlet continued: "His plan to make a claim from the fund stems from his time as a congressional staffer. He had his phone and email records subpoenaed when he was investigating 'Russiagate,' the yearslong probe into Russia’s efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election and Trump’s alleged ties to Moscow. It’s unclear how much money Davis would have sought from the halted fund, if any, but the proposed fund would have also offered formal apologies."“[Davis] has relationships with the senators, and it was a very tough time for him to back out,” one anonymous official close to the situation told Politico. “In a very fraught moment, with legislative affairs and stuff with the Hill, DOJ needed to have the head of [lega] affairs involved.”When reached for comment, the DOJ told Politico that "out of an abundance of caution, Davis temporarily recused himself on a precautionary basis and after internal consultation, it was decided that recusal was not necessary for a number of reasons," while also taking the opportunity to once again smear the Russian collusion investigation as a "hoax."
