Senate Democrats question Trump-related Justice Department settlement fund

Led by Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Senate Democrats pressed Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Thursday over a roughly $1.8 billion Justice Department settlement fund that may violate internal rules and sidestep Congress’s power of the purse.

The fund was created as part of a settlement resolving Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns. Booker, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Adam Schiff of California and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island asked Blanche to explain by July 8 how the arrangement complies with Justice Department rules that limit settlement agreements involving payments to third parties.

Justice Department rules limit settlement agreements involving payments to third parties. Booker’s office put the pool at $1.7 billion of taxpayer money.

Grassley and other Senate Republicans, including Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, have also asked for more explanation.

On June 4, Democrats forced a vote on an amendment from Minority Leader Chuck Schumer that would have barred the fund, but it failed 49-50. Republicans Susan Collins of Maine, Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Jon Husted of Ohio voted for the amendment, while other GOP critics opposed it.

Booker and Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana also filed a bipartisan amicus brief on June 4 in federal court supporting a challenge to the fund. The filing warned that the arrangement posed an “immediate and dire threat” to the constitutional order and said Justice Department officials had not formally withdrawn the settlement even after saying it would not move forward, leaving room for a reversal.

A federal judge in Virginia temporarily blocked the Justice Department from making payouts, and a federal judge in Miami sought more briefing after 35 judges filed an amicus brief calling the case a “fraud on the Court.” Booker’s office said the fund could be used to compensate people involved in the Jan. 6 attack.