Justice Department Sets Aside $1.776 Billion to Compensate Trump Allies

The gravel crunches under tires on the shoulder of Interstate 70, just west of Glenwood Springs, where the morning fog still clings to the Eagle River. It’s a quiet stretch of road, the kind where you might catch a glimpse of a deer or, if you’re lucky, a semi-truck navigating the grade. But lately, the silence feels different. Heavier.

Here’s the thing though: that quiet is about to get a lot more expensive for folks in the valley.

The Justice Department announced Monday that it is setting aside $1.7 billion — specifically $1.776 billion, a figure that feels suspiciously like a tax year — to compensate allies of President Donald Trump who believe they were unjustly investigated or prosecuted. The fund is part of a settlement resolving Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns. It’s a massive payout, and it’s coming directly out of your pocket, whether you voted Republican or not.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche called it “a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress.” He said the machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American. It sounds good. It sounds like justice. But it’s not exactly a simple refund check.

This isn’t just about Trump. It’s about the people who stood with him. The fund allows individuals who believe they were targeted for political purposes, including by the Biden administration’s Justice Department; to apply for payouts. That means a local contractor who got caught up in a federal probe, or a small-town mayor who took a hit for the base, could potentially walk away with a slice of that $1.776 billion pie.

And that matters because nearly 100 Democrats in the House of Representatives have already signed onto a legal brief urging a judge to block what they’re calling an unprecedented resolution. They argue it would unjustly enrich people close to the president with taxpayer dollars. Donald Sherman, president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, didn’t mince words. He called it “one of the single most corrupt acts in American history.”

Picture this: a slush fund. Not for emergencies. Not for infrastructure. But for a “private militia of insurrectionists, rioters, and white supremacists,” as one brief put it. The fund represents a highly unorthodox resolution. It’s a demonstration of the administration’s eagerness to reward allies who have long insisted they were victims of political persecution. We’ve already seen the pardons - supporters who rioted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, had their sentences commuted or erased on Trump’s first day back in office. Now, we’re paying them for the privilege.

Blanche is expected to be pressed on the fund when he testifies Tuesday on Capitol Hill about the Justice Department budget. He’ll have to explain how this fits into the broader picture, especially since his own department has investigated and prosecuted some of Trump’s perceived adversaries. It’s a bit of a double-edged sword.

Trump’s attorneys suggested in court filings that this resolution wouldn’t be reviewable by a judge. But a group of 93 members of Congress filed a brief teeing up a challenge. They’re betting that the courts will look closer at the money trail.

For locals, the question isn’t just about Washington politics. It’s about where that $1.776 billion comes from. It’s the same Treasury that funds the roads you drive on, the schools your kids attend, and the emergency services that respond when the winter storm hits. If the government decides to pour that money into a fund for political allies, it’s not exactly a guaranteed return on investment for the average taxpayer.

The fund is designed to make right the wrongs that were previously done. But as Blanche noted in his statement, it’s about ensuring this never happens again. Whether that’s true is still up for debate. What’s clear is that the check is being written. And it’s a big one.