Judge Orders Trump Officials to Name $1.8 Billion Fund Architects
Updated
Updated · NBC News · Sep 4
Judge Orders Trump Officials to Name $1.8 Billion Fund Architects
3 articles · Updated · NBC News · Sep 4
Summary
$1.8 billion is at the center of a federal discovery order requiring the Trump administration to identify who designed the “anti-weaponization fund,” according to a ruling issued Friday in Virginia.
Judge Ivan D. Davis granted part of plaintiffs’ motion to compel after challengers argued they need to trace how the fund was structured and whether it can still be revived.
The fund emerged from an IRS settlement involving Donald Trump, two sons and his company, setting aside taxpayer money for people claiming “weaponization and lawfare” — potentially including pardoned Jan. 6 rioters.
Todd Blanche has said the fund is rescinded, but plaintiffs argue a loophole remains because the original settlement signatories did not cancel it, leaving related IRS-audit immunity and future payouts in question.
That uncertainty has kept the case alive after bipartisan backlash, with one Jan. 6 defendant this week publicly pressing for a $1 million payout.