Trump's $1.8 billion weaponisation fund called 'most brazen presidential corruption in US history'

politics | ABC News Australia | 2026-05-25T19:51:00.000Z

President Trump's proposed $1.8 billion compensation fund for alleged victims of justice system weaponisation has drawn fierce criticism. Ethics experts say it immunises Trump, his family and businesses from tax audits and liability before other agencies. The top Treasury Department lawyer resigned hours after the fund was announced. A watchdog group has sued to block it.

President Trump's proposed $1.8 billion compensation fund for alleged victims of justice system weaponisation has ignited a firestorm of controversy, with ethics experts calling it one of the most brazen exhibits of presidential corruption in United States history. The fund, created from a legal settlement, ostensibly compensates individuals whose lives were destroyed by politically motivated law enforcement, but critics say its true purpose is far more troubling.

The settlement explicitly immunises Trump, his sons, his businesses, and any related or affiliated individuals from IRS tax audits and from liability before other agencies and departments. Virginia Cantor, who served as White House Associate Counsel to Presidents Obama and Clinton, said Trump originally sought $10 billion to be paid directly to himself, but pivoted to this fund structure after that would have violated the Constitution. She argues diverting money to political loyalists still constitutes a benefit to him and violates the Domestic Emoluments Clause.

The top lawyer at the Treasury Department, responsible for paying out settlements, resigned only hours after the fund was announced despite being on the job for just seven months. His departure without public explanation sent shockwaves through Washington. Watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed suit to block the fund, calling it a jaw-dropping act of presidential corruption and claiming Trump is attempting to illegally divert nearly $2 billion of taxpayer money into the hands of his friends and supporters.

The fund's commissioners, appointed by the president, determine their own procedures for processing claims and can remove any commissioner without cause. They are not required to disclose claimant information to the public, only to the Attorney General. The settlement agreement even explicitly disclaims liability for protection or safeguarding of the money, regardless of bank failure, fraudulent transfers or any other fraud or misuse of the funds.

Trump's former personal lawyer turned critic Michael Cohen has announced he wants to test the fund's independence by filing his own claim, having served three years in jail for tax evasion and campaign finance violations during Trump's first term. Vice President JD Vance defended the fund, insisting no money would go to Trump or his family personally. However, potential claimants are understood to include January 6th defendants, many of whom attacked police officers and disrupted the democratic transition of power.