The Trump administration is considering the establishment of a $1.7 billion fund to compensate the president\u2019s allies and others investigated by the Justice Department under President Joseph R. Biden Jr., creating an ethical and political minefield for Republicans and the department\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n
The unusual plan, which Democrats and former government officials criticized as a vast political slush fund financed by taxpayers, is being fast-tracked, but has yet to be finalized or approved, according to people familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.<\/p>\n
The Justice Department is modeling the program, in part, on a landmark $760 million settlement fund the Obama administration created to compensate Native American farmers and ranchers who were deprived access to federal subsidies for decades, one of those people said. Payments in that settlement came from the Judgment Fund, an uncapped pot of money that does not require congressional approval to make payments and is maintained by the Treasury Department.<\/p>\n
The proposal comes in response to various claims President Trump has made against a federal government he himself controls. He has sought compensation<\/a> for the leak of his tax returns during his first term, as well as the investigations into his handling of classified documents after he left office and into his 2016 campaign\u2019s potential ties to Russia.<\/p>\n The idea of establishing a government fund to pay Mr. Trump\u2019s political allies has gained traction internally as the Justice Department and White House try to resolve a $10 billion lawsuit Mr. Trump filed in January against the Internal Revenue Service<\/a>. The judge overseeing that case is considering throwing out Mr. Trump\u2019s suit<\/a> because it is ridden with perceived conflicts of interest and the potential for self-dealing.<\/p>\n It was not immediately clear where the fund would draw money from. But officials with the Treasury Department have been part of internal discussions, one of the people familiar with the matter said.<\/p>\n A compensation fund for Trump allies but not for the president himself would offer a short-term fix, allowing the president to receive a deliverable benefit from the lawsuit before the judge could dismiss it, according to officials briefed on its details.<\/p>\n The fund would also address Mr. Trump\u2019s separate pair<\/a> of administrative claims against the Justice Department for its previous investigations into him. Mr. Trump has asked for $230 million for those claims.<\/p>\n ABC News reported the fund proposal<\/a> on Thursday. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n People in Mr. Trump\u2019s orbit have for months discussed a compensation fund for his allies who incurred significant legal fees during the various investigations that ensnared Mr. Trump and his aides. It could extend to the nearly 1,600 people charged in connection with the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 but will not be limited to his allies.<\/p>\n The move, which is likely to include compensating those Trump supporters who ransacked the Capitol, would represent the culmination of the government\u2019s comprehensive effort to rewrite history. The proposal would, in many respects, act as a bookend to Mr. Trump\u2019s issuance of clemency to those convicted of crimes during the Capitol riot \u2014 felons now valorized by his appointees as heroic and as \u201csurvivors\u201d who have been victimized.<\/p>\n The Justice Department under Mr. Trump\u2019s control has prosecuted his enemies on flimsy evidence, dropped cases against defendants he favors and demolished anti-corruption and national security units. Yet those moves have not prompted public outrage comparable to the backlash over its handling of the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.<\/p>\n The compensation plan could be political poison for Republicans already weakened by Mr. Trump\u2019s plummeting popularity ahead of the midterm elections.<\/p>\n