DOJ creates $1.8 billion fund that could compensate 'targeted' Trump allies

Geoff Bennett:

Another story we're covering tonight, the Justice Department said today it's creating a nearly $1.8 billion fund that could compensate Trump supporters who say they were wrongly investigated or prosecuted by previous administrations.

Amna Nawaz:

The announcement came as part of a settlement with President Trump to drop a $10 billion lawsuit he filed against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns in 2019.

The "News Hour"'s Liz Landers asked the president why taxpayers should foot the bill for the new fund.

President Donald Trump:

This is reimbursing people that were horribly treated, horribly treated. It's anti-weaponization. They have been weaponized. They have been, in some cases, imprisoned wrongly. They paid legal fees that they didn't have. They have gone bankrupt. Their lives have been destroyed. And they turned out to be right.

Amna Nawaz:

Joining us now with more is our justice correspondent, Ali Rogin.

So, Ali, let's start with that lawsuit the president had filed against the IRS. What was that about and how is it connected to this fund?

Ali Rogin:

Yes, this was filed earlier this year.

The Trump -- President Trump and members of his family filed this lawsuit, $10 billion, against the IRS, alleging that a leak of classified tax returns during his first administration caused financial and reputational harm to the Trump family and the Trump Organization.

We should note that the leaker was a federal contractor who is currently serving a five-year prison sentence. This lawsuit set up an unprecedented situation where the president would be suing an agency of the government that he leads.

And since the DOJ also represents the federal agencies in courts, this lawsuit would have pitted President Trump suing -- against -- would have pitted President Trump against the Department of Justice, whose agenda the president obviously has helped steer. And, of course, that agenda has included punishing his political adversaries.

Amna Nawaz:

So was this announcement today, was it entirely a surprise?

Ali Rogin:

We had been hearing from Trump lawyers that they were signaling that they wanted to settle this out of court. There were many open questions, though, about how that would take shape. Now we know.

Trump's lawyers have dropped this lawsuit and the DOJ is going to set up what they're calling this anti-weaponization fund. It will be made available to people who claim to have suffered what the DOJ calls -- quote -- "weaponization and lawfare."

Today's announcement did not define those terms, but recently the DOJ has made similar payments to former Trump White House and campaign officials who say they were victims of weaponized prosecution during the Biden administration, Amna.

Amna Nawaz:

So, what more do we know about this so-called anti-weaponization fund? Because it is a lot of money. So what do we know about how it operates?

Ali Rogin:

It's a significant amount of money. It has up to $1.776 billion available to be paid out. Yes, that is 1776. We don't yet know how much people can apply to receive.

We don't really know much about how they can apply in the first place. What we do know is that this money comes from an existing fund that the DOJ has access to that allows them to settle and pay out cases. In terms of criteria for who's able to claim, what they would need to show to be awarded, all the DOJ says on that score is that there are no partisan requirements to do so.

We also know that in terms of the people who are deciding these payouts, there will be a commission of five members appointed by the attorney general, one of whom will be done in consultation with Congress. But we don't know who any of those five might be.

Amna Nawaz:

So all of those questions have drawn strong backlash to these reports, the announcement of the fund, from Democrats and former government officials as well.

The big question here is, could President Trump stand to benefit himself? Do we know?

Ali Rogin:

The Department of Justice says that as a condition of this fund going into effect and the settlement of this case out of court, President Trump cannot apply to be a claimant.

However, sources have told ABC News and others that it is possible that people associated with President Trump may not -- will not be barred from filing claims. Amna, I also want to mention that there has been significant Democratic backlash from this.

Almost 100 House Democrats have filed suit to block what they are calling this slush fund. Senator Elizabeth Warren today was on social media calling it -- quote -- "corruption on steroids," Amna.

Amna Nawaz:

Our justice correspondent, Ali Rogin, thank you so much.

Ali Rogin:

You bet.