And thank (insert deity here) did. The whole thing was bullsh!t. It was a fake case because of how it was done. Trump just wanted to get his hands on the money, most of which would disappear into his pockets. Pardon my language, but this was … was … indescribable. Thanks to AlterNet:
President Donald Trump is reportedly planning on abandoning his planned $1.8 billion slush fund. “The Trump administration plans to drop its controversial $1.8 billion ‘weaponization’ fund the president sought to compensate alleged victims of prosecutorial conduct under his predecessor,” reported Axios’ Marc Caputo on Monday, based on comments from two anonymous administration officials. Caputo added that one source told him, “It’s dead for now.”
It’s about time. This thing was dodgy from the start. And what Trump wanted to use it for was incredibly obvious from the start. He wanted to pay off people who were “loyal” to him. It was for people who happily did what he told them to do, and then they expanded on it. That’s when things got bad. Trump would not give any of it to the police officers who were injured and still alive. He watched it! [Wall of text incoming. Worth it.]
The $1.8 billion slush fund was created by Trump earlier this month as a rushed settlement to his lawsuit against the IRS for a contractor there leaking his tax returns during his first term. The slush fund was controversial because it involved Trump suing an agency he controls (the IRS) and controlling the agency intended to defend it (the Department of Justice), creating a clear conflict of interest; for the fact that the basis of his lawsuit was a crime that had never before led to any kind of monetary compensation and for the fact that he planned on allegedly self-dealing (through agencies connected to his businesses, and with which he remains linked) as well as allegedly giving money to Jan. 6th insurrectionists and other criminals.
Weren’t we already having fits about this when it started? Didn’t we know it was essentially illegal? We knew he wanted to give it to criminals! But. The legal system may grind slowly, but once it’s started, it’s inexorable. Trump was getting hit with lawsuits all over the place about this. And there was a judge really paying attention, but then, they usually do. Judge Williams was the rock that broke this fund apart. We owe her our thanks. [Another wall of text incoming. Also worth it.]
The reversal comes amid intense congressional scrutiny and legal challenges questioning whether Trump had constitutional authority to unilaterally create the fund without Congressional approval. Republican lawmakers, concerned about political blowback heading into the midterm elections, reportedly urged the administration to abandon the plan. Legal scholars argued the settlement violated separation of powers principles by allowing Trump to effectively circumvent standard appropriations processes. The decision also reflects growing concerns about potential criminal liability for administration officials involved in what critics characterized as an unlawful self-dealing scheme designed to reward political allies.
Please accept my apologies for the two walls of text. I hope you were able to read them. I was having trouble picking and choosing what to use, so I gave up and dropped everything in. Almost. Even after all this time, I don’t convert legalese very well. Enough pressure was laid on Trump to get him to stop. For now. He might try again. If so, I hope he can be blocked again. We’ll be watching. May it give him nightmares.
See you soon!
Friends, I know everybody begs you for money. I promise you that, of all the outlets bugging you for spare change, we are the smallest and the hardest-working. We’re a bunch of old, disabled people, except one writer in his mid-50s. But the rest of us are in our sixties and seventies, and this is a labor of love. All we’re asking for is the ability to continue our quest to tell the truth about Trump and help ensure democracy survives. If you can help, please do. Thank you. Ursula
