Donald Trump sued the IRS for $10 billion over his leaked tax returns. He was the plaintiff. He is also the president — meaning he was effectively suing his own government.

On May 18, the Department of Justice — which answers to Trump — settled the suit. Trump dropped the $10 billion claim. In exchange, the DOJ created a $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" to compensate people who claim they were wrongly targeted by federal law enforcement.

The fund is drawn from the federal Judgment Fund — taxpayer money. It will be overseen by a five-person commission appointed by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who until recently was Trump's personal defense attorney.

The IRS, as part of the same deal, is now "forever barred" from pursuing any tax investigations into Trump, his family, or his companies for any period before May 18, 2026.

This is not a legal settlement. It is a shakedown. The president of the United States used the machinery of the Justice Department to launder his personal lawsuit into a nearly $2 billion slush fund for his political allies, while simultaneously erasing any possibility that the IRS could investigate his finances.

Call it what it is: armed robbery of the United States Treasury.

The Anatomy of the Scam

The mechanics are almost cartoonishly corrupt.

Trump filed the original lawsuit in January 2026, seeking $10 billion in damages over the 2019 leak of his tax returns to the New York Times. The judge overseeing the case was already considering throwing it out because of the inherent conflict of interest — the plaintiff is the defendant's boss.

Rather than risk a courtroom loss, the administration settled with itself. The DOJ — representing the United States government — agreed to the terms demanded by Trump's personal lawyers. Trump got:

1. Total IRS immunity. The IRS is permanently barred from investigating Trump's tax returns for any period before May 18, 2026. His companies, his children, his entire financial empire — untouchable.
2. A formal apology. The DOJ issued a formal apology to Trump and his family for the leak. The government apologized to the president for investigating the president.
3. $1.776 billion for his allies. The "Anti-Weaponization Fund" — money taken from the federal Judgment Fund, meaning from taxpayers — will be distributed by a commission of five people, all appointed by Blanche, Trump's former lawyer. The number is not coincidental: 1776, the year of American independence, weaponized as a branding exercise for executive theft.
4. No judicial oversight. The agreement stipulates that once funds are allocated, "the United States has no liability" for how the money is used. There is no requirement for public disclosure of who receives payouts or how much.

The claims process closes on December 15, 2028 — conveniently, just weeks before the next presidential inauguration, ensuring every dollar is spent before any potential change in administration could stop it.

Who's Lining Up at the Trough

The fund has been operational for less than 48 hours, and the feeding frenzy has already begun.

Michael Caputo, a former Trump campaign adviser and HHS spokesperson during Trump's first term, filed the first known claim on May 20 — seeking $2.7 million. Caputo was investigated by the FBI during the Mueller probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election. He claims he "suffered greatly during that dark era of political weaponization."

Jan. 6 rioters are expected to file en masse. Jenny Cudd, who pleaded guilty to misdemeanor trespassing for entering the Capitol on January 6, told CBS News that "all J6ers will apply for restitution." These are people who attacked the seat of American democracy — and now the government they attacked is preparing to pay them for the inconvenience of being held accountable.

Trump has already pardoned approximately 1,500 January 6 defendants, including those convicted of seditious conspiracy and violent assaults on police officers. The fund would go further: not just erasing their criminal records, but compensating them financially for having been prosecuted at all.

Michael Flynn, Trump's former national security adviser who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials, has already received $1.25 million in a separate DOJ settlement. He is expected to seek additional compensation from the fund.

Mark Meadows, Trump's former White House chief of staff, is seeking reimbursement for legal fees incurred across multiple federal and state investigations into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Tina Peters, a former Colorado county elections official convicted of allowing unauthorized access to voting machines, was named by Vice President JD Vance as a potential candidate for compensation.

Mark Houck, an anti-abortion activist prosecuted under the FACE Act, received a $1.1 million DOJ settlement earlier this year.

The pattern is unmistakable. The fund exists to enrich the same network of loyalists, insurrectionists, and far-right activists who form Trump's political base — paid for by the same taxpayers they attacked.

Todd Blanche testifying at Senate hearing with American flag behind him

The officers Are Fighting Back

On May 20, two police officers who defended the Capitol on January 6 filed a lawsuit seeking to block the fund. The officers, who physically battled the rioters now positioning themselves for payouts, described the fund as "presidential corruption" and an effort to use taxpayer money to reward an insurrection.

Their lawsuit, joined by at least one other Capitol Police officer, argues that the fund violates the constitutional separation of powers and amounts to an unconstitutional appropriation of federal funds without congressional authorization.

Senator Chris Van Hollen called the arrangement "pure theft of public funds" during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on May 19. "Rewarding individuals that committed crimes is obscene," he said. "Every American can see through this illegal, corrupt, self-dealing scheme."

93 House Democrats filed an amicus brief calling the fund "illegal and corrupt as hell." Representative Don Beyer wrote: "He's just stealing your money. There's no transparency, we won't know who gets paid, or how much."

Even some Republicans have expressed skepticism. The fund's structure — nearly $2 billion with no congressional appropriation, no oversight, and no disclosure requirements — is sufficiently brazen to unsettle members of Trump's own party.

The Man Running It

Todd Blanche is not a disinterested public servant. He was Trump's defense attorney in the New York hush money case and the federal classified documents case. His appointment as Acting Attorney General was itself an act of political capture — placing Trump's personal lawyer at the head of the Department of Justice.

Now that same lawyer is appointing every member of the commission that will decide who receives nearly $2 billion in taxpayer money. There is no requirement for Senate confirmation. No public hearing. No transparency in the selection process.

The DOJ's own press release states the fund has "no partisan requirements" and is open to "anybody in this country." This is a fig leaf. When the person appointing every decision-maker is the president's former defense attorney, and the first claimant is a Trump campaign operative, and the vice president is publicly suggesting specific beneficiaries — the fiction of neutrality collapses entirely.

A Precedent for Autocracy

This fund is not merely corrupt. It is structurally dangerous.

It establishes the principle that a president can use the DOJ to settle personal lawsuits against the government, extract immunity from federal investigation, and create billion-dollar patronage networks — all without congressional approval.

It converts the Justice Department from a law enforcement agency into a political dispensary.

It tells every future president: the federal treasury is yours to distribute. Your allies can be compensated for the crime of being investigated. Your enemies can be punished for doing their jobs. The law is not a constraint — it is a tool.

And it tells every federal agent, prosecutor, and investigator: if you pursue a case against politically powerful people, you may be sued, your department may be stripped of nearly $2 billion, and the people you investigated may be paid for their trouble.

The deterrent effect is the point.

Follow the Money

$1.776 billion. Drawn from the Judgment Fund. Distributed by five political appointees. With no oversight, no disclosure, no accountability, and a deadline timed to ensure every dollar is spent before the next president takes office.

The money comes from American taxpayers. It goes to Trump's allies.

The IRS is barred from investigating Trump's finances. The DOJ is barred from holding his supporters accountable. And the people who tried to overthrow American democracy are lining up to be paid for their trouble.

This is not governance. It is looting.

And it is happening in plain sight.

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Sources: CBS News, USA Today, Time, ABC News, NBC News, Politico, The Guardian, The Hill, Forbes, Democracy Now, DOJ press release, Axios