Public Citizen has sued the Trump administration — again — over its $1.776 billion slush fund for MAGA crooks and cronies.

A quick note:

Don’t be misled by reports that the slush fund is no longer a concern. Todd Blanche — Donald Trump’s former criminal lawyer, whose nomination to be the next attorney general of the United States (he is currently “acting” as such) is under consideration in the Senate as we speak — refuses to put anything about the status of the fund in writing. So his directive to set up the fund remains in place.

Here’s more about this lawsuit:

• Back in May, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced an absurd “settlement” in a bogus lawsuit that Donald Trump had filed against his own Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

• Trump knew his lawsuit was a sham. He outright admitted that he would “work out a settlement with myself.”

• In what amounts to a shakedown of the American people, Trump “dropped” his meritless lawsuit in exchange for the DOJ agreeing to use $1.776 billion of taxpayer money to pay MAGA loyalists and others who claim the law was “weaponized” against them.

• Trump officials openly stated that people convicted of crimes related to the attempted coup d’etat carried out in Trump’s name on January 6, 2021, would be eligible for payouts.

• The so-called settlement also gave Trump, his family, and their assorted businesses sweeping, unprecedented immunity from tax investigations.

• And who was it that set up the slush fund? That’s right, it was Todd Blanche himself.

Shortly after the “settlement” and slush fund were announced, Public Citizen launched an investigation — under the Freedom of Information Act — seeking records from the government related to the amount of the fund and any communications between Trump’s lawyers and the DOJ.

The deadline for a response to our valid Freedom of Information Act enquiries has come and gone with nothing but silence from the administration. You have to wonder: What are they hiding?

On July 7, we filed a lawsuit in federal court, seeking an order for Trump’s Department of Justice to produce the information that we requested and that the American people are entitled to see about the “settlement” and slush fund.

This is our second lawsuit over the “settlement” and slush fund. This lawsuit is about getting access to relevant government records. The first lawsuit is about whether the slush fund was set up lawfully in the first place.

We have filed 45 lawsuits (so far) against the administration since Trump returned to power. While the justice system can move slowly, in many cases we have already kept the regime from doing maximum damage. And we have no intention of giving up the fight as our cases make their way through the courts and as we file new lawsuits.

Are these lawsuits alone enough to fully defeat Trump and MAGA? Of course not. But are they a meaningful part of the pushback that is the only chance we have to collectively save our country? No doubt about it.

What you and Public Citizen are doing together matters. What hundreds of other organizations, big and small, are doing matters. What millions upon millions of our fellow Americans are doing matters. We believe that to our core. We take solace in that. And we draw inspiration from that. We hope you do, too.

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- Lisa Gilbert & Robert Weissman, Co-Presidents of Public Citizen


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