President Donald Trump has defended his $1.8 billion revenge slush fund, complaining that he gave up “a lot of money” for the controversial scheme.
Days after insisting he had nothing to do with setting up the fund, the billionaire president posted on Truth Social, saying he allowed the initiative to be created so he could help others.
“I gave up a lot of money in allowing the just announced Anti-Weaponization Fund to go forward,” he wrote.
“I could have settled my case, including the illegal release of my Tax Returns and the equally illegal BREAK IN of Mar-a-Lago, for an absolute fortune. Instead, I am helping others, who were so badly abused by an evil, corrupt, and weaponized Biden Administration, receive, at long last, JUSTICE!”
The comments come as the backlash against the fund continued on Friday, with congressional Republicans in open rebellion, MAGA grifters lining up for a taxpayer-funded cut, and Capitol Hill lawsuits in full swing.
North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis called the scheme “stupid on stilts,” and Pennsylvania Republican Brian Fitzpatrick spearheaded a bipartisan House effort to kill the fund in its current form, while former GOP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell took aim at acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who helped broker the deal.
“So the nation’s top law enforcement official is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops?” McConnell asked. “Utterly stupid, morally wrong—Take your pick.”
Trump’s complaint about losing money comes despite the president’s wealth growing as he sits in the Oval Office.
According to Forbes, his net worth is estimated at $6.5-$7.3 billion. This is largely due to significant investments and proceeds from cryptocurrency ventures; a growing family portfolio of office towers, golf resorts, and licensing deals worldwide; and substantial equity in the parent company of Truth Social.
But the fund is becoming a growing headache for the administration, with critics saying it would give Trump and his allies enormous influence over who receives taxpayer money, including January 6 rioters who assaulted police.
Several MAGA acolytes have already said they would be applying for compensation.
Among them is Enrique Tarrio, the former Proud Boys leader who was sentenced to 22 years for “seditious conspiracy” in relation to the January 6 attack. He estimated his claim could be worth between $2 million and $5 million.
Election denier Mike Lindell is also seeking a payout, arguing that his company, MyPillow, lost $400 million due to perceived government weaponization.
And GOP Congressman Andrew Clyde, who was previously embroiled in a messy legal battle with the Internal Revenue Service, did not rule out using the fund himself during an interview with Politico on Thursday.
The backlash has exposed deepening GOP fractures, with senators now demanding limits on who can cash in, while House Republicans skipped town early and blew off a deadline on an immigration enforcement bill as a result of the divisions.
The issue is also rapidly becoming a defining test for Blanche, who was once regarded as one of New York’s more respected white-collar lawyers but is now viewed in Washington as Trump’s personal fixer inside the Justice Department.
Blanche, who is auditioning to become Trump’s full-time attorney general following Pam Bondi’s sacking earlier this year, signed off on the fund after Trump agreed to drop a $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leaking of his tax records.
But in another stunning development, he added a clause to the deal declaring the federal government was ”forever barred and precluded" from examining or prosecuting Trump, his sons, and the Trump organization’s current tax issues.
The acting attorney general was was grilled by Republicans and Democrats alike this week over the opaque backroom deal, including why the DOJ was signing off on an initiative tied to IRS settlements and taxpayer payouts that critics say should fall under the Treasury Department.
But Blanche and Trump have both defended the scheme, with the president describing it as a small price to pay for alleged weaponization by the Obama and Biden administrations.
“What they did in terms of weaponization will never be allowed to happen in this country again,” Trump said earlier this week.
“We think that anybody involved in that process should partake, and you’re talking about peanuts compared to the value. It destroyed the lives of many, many people.”
