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Rep. Neal criticizes Trump’s $1.7B settlement in IRS lawsuit as ‘slush fund’
SPRINGFIELD – By suing the IRS earlier this year, President Donald Trump tried to make himself both the plaintiff and, through the Justice Department, defendant in the $10 billion litigation.
On Monday, Trump settled the lawsuit with his own administration creating a $1.7 billion fund to compensate Trump allies that the administration says were targeted by the Biden-era Justice Department.
“Even by the administration’s standards, that’s a new one,” U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal told reporters Monday prior to an event in Springfield. “Well, he’s backed off of that position today and now I think that it seems to be this is more about settling a score. And I think that a lot of Republicans will resist that too.”
In a written statement, Neal called the $1.7 billion a “slush fund.”
Neal was among the lawmakers who signed a brief backing a new court motion to block what they call an unconstitutional taxpayer-funded settlement.
The president sued the IRS over tax documents that were made public.
Trump wants to reward allies, including the nearly 1,600 defendants convicted or charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, said U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, and others in a news release.
The fund is for people who feel targeted by Democrats, the Justice Department said.
“The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this department’s intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a written statement.
On Tuesday, Blanche will have a chance to defend the fund on Capitol Hill.
Neal said members of Congress, including Republicans, will be skeptical.
“They’re asking for a billion dollars now for the ballroom at the White House. We were told that that was be paid for with private contributions. And now we’re being asked for $1.7 billion for recriminations against the president’s alleged adversaries,” Neal said. “I think that a lot of them now are going to come to their senses.”
Republicans might voice support for their party members, Neal said. “But there’s another reality here and that is when you have to pay for it.”