After widespread bipartisan outcry, the Justice Department says it is permanently abandoning plans for a $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization" fund. Widely branded as a "slush fund," it was expected to reward President Donald Trump's supporters, including those who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The fund was announced in May as part of a settlement in Trump's personal lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax data. That case was recently reopened, after dozens of former federal judges filed a motion alleging that Trump's actions were "collusive." As Nancy Gertner, one of the judges who joined the motion, explains, "What happened in this case was, essentially, Trump was suing himself. There was no question that Trump was on both sides of the 'v.'" Gertner and her fellow judges are represented by attorney Matt Platkin, who says, "It is illegal for the president to ask for any IRS audit to be opened or closed. That is a federal crime."
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