Wyden, Finance panel Democrats seek investigation of DOJ fund

Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee called on chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) Friday to launch a bipartisan probe into the Justice Department’s new fund for victims of government weaponization.

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Led by ranking member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the letter slams the $1.8 billion fund set up last week after President Donald Trump agreed to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the 2019 leak of his tax information, and the Justice Department’s decision to grant immunity to the president and his family from tax inquiries.

The federal fund to pay victims of so-called government weaponization was part of the settlement to resolve the lawsuit. But details about who can get money and who awards the payments were not fully resolved by week’s end.

“This so-called ‘settlement,’ which circumvents proper judicial review and the congressional appropriations process, amounts to an unprecedented looting of taxpayer dollars,” several senators wrote in their letter to Crapo.

The letter comes as Democrats try to force the GOP’s hand by introducing a 100% tax on payments from the new fund—even as Republicans face increasing pressure on what’s become a politically toxic pot of money.

“These actions by the president, ‘one of the single most corrupt acts in American history,’ demand a full and thorough investigation by this committee,” the letter reads.

The IRS didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.