brisbanetimes.com.au: https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/world/north-america/corruption-on-steroids-trump-drops-tax-office-lawsuit-in-return-for-2-5b-slush-fund-20260519-p5zyix.html

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Subject: R000606
Source: GDELT news · original
Published: Monday, May 18, 2026

Trump anti-weaponisation fund: US president drops lawsuit against IRS in return for $2.5b ‘slush fund’ Open accessibility guide Skip to sections navigation Skip to content Skip to footer Log in Our network Log in Expand navigation menu Search Advertisement World North America US politics ‘Corruption on steroids’: Trump drops tax office lawsuit in return for $2.5b ‘slush fund’ Michael Koziol May 19, 2026 — 5:35am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A Washington: President Donald Trump settled his lawsuit against the US tax office through the creation of an unusual multibillion-dollar fund to compensate victims of supposed government “weaponisation”, which was immediately described by Democrats as a MAGA slush fun

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Trump anti-weaponisation fund: US president drops lawsuit against IRS in return for $2.5b ‘slush fund’ Open accessibility guide Skip to sections navigation Skip to content Skip to footer Log in Our network Log in Expand navigation menu Search Advertisement World North America US politics ‘Corruption on steroids’: Trump drops tax office lawsuit in return for $2.5b ‘slush fund’ Michael Koziol May 19, 2026 — 5:35am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share A A A Washington: President Donald Trump settled his lawsuit against the US tax office through the creation of an unusual multibillion-dollar fund to compensate victims of supposed government “weaponisation”, which was immediately described by Democrats as a MAGA slush fund. The Department of Justice – whose acting head is Trump’s former personal lawyer, Todd Blanche – announced that as part of the settlement, it would set aside $US1.776 billion ($2.48 billion) for the “Anti-Weaponisation Fund”, which will award damages to people claiming to be victims of US government lawfare. Democrats described Donald Trump’s lawsuit as a “sham” intended to instigate the favourable settlement that was announced on Monday. Bloomberg While the Justice Department stated there were no partisan requirements to file a claim, Blanche indicated the aim was to redress what the Trump administration regards as the weaponisation of the US federal government under Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden. “The machinery of government should never be weaponised against any American, and it is this department’s intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again,” said Blanche. Advertisement “As part of this settlement, we are setting up a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponisation to be heard and seek redress.” Democrats widely expect the money to be used to compensate people who were convicted or charged over the January 6 riots at the US Capitol, whom Trump pardoned on his first day back in office. That could theoretically include Trump allies such as Steve Bannon or trade counsellor Peter Navarro , who went to prison for defying a congressional subpoena over the matter. Avenging the 1600 people convicted or charged over the January 6, 2021 riots has been a motivating factor for Trump ever since. AP Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton said on X: “Trump didn’t just pardon his followers who stormed the US Capitol. He’s now set them up for payments through a slush fund he created to reward his allies – out of your tax dollars. You could not make this up.” Trump, his sons and the family business sued the Internal Revenue Service for $US10 billion in January, arguing the tax agency should have done more to prevent a former IRS contractor from leaking their ⁠tax returns to media outlets during the president’s first term. Advertisement Those outlets, The New York Times and ProPublica, reported that Trum

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