Where is Republican outrage over Trump’s $1.8 billion scam labeled a “settlement” of his lawsuit against the IRS? Or his get-out-of-jail-forever pass issued by his former lawyer now serving as acting Attorney General?
The loudest whimper came from Senate Majority Leader John Thune who told reporters he is “not a big fan” of the settlement. House Speaker Mike Johnson just dodged inquiries. No outrage. No promise to investigate.
Sigh, the only official voice of questioning the settlement came from the federal judge overseeing the underlying lawsuit.
U. S. District Judge Kathleen Williams said the Justice Department, “neither submitted nor filed any documents ensuring that the settlement was appropriate where there was an outstanding question as to whether an actual case or controversy existed.” Her comments came as she allowed, as the law requires, Trump and his fellow plaintiffs to walk away from the case.
In January, a chief executive of government too busy to be sued himself, got around to filing suit against government entities “subject to his direction,” the IRS and the U.S. Treasury. He and his sons and his former (?) business sought $10 billion for damages he claimed were caused by an IRS contractor’s leaks of tax returns between 2018 and 2020. The damages, never proven as Judge Williams noted, were to make up for the “embarrassment” and “reputational harm” resulting from published stories and claims of “improprieties” based on the leaks.
On May 18, two days before a pending hearing before Judge Williams, Trump cancelled the lawsuit. Immediately afterward, his former lawyer, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, announced Trump et al had agreed to a $1.8 billion settlement. Blanche directed the U.S. Treasury to transfer $1,776,000,000 to a newly created “Anti-Weaponization Fund.” The fund is intended for individuals besides Trump et al “who allege harm by prior government conduct.” Note: “allege” not prove. Blanche even indicated that former political contributors could file claims.
A day later came the kicker. Blanche announced an addendum to the settlement that “FOREVER BARRED and PRECLUDED” the U.S. government “from prosecuting or pursuing any and all claims,” including “monetary relief”, that “have been or could have been” asserted by the IRS against Trump, his family, or his businesses.
So, we have a President suing himself (his government) then settling with himself (his Justice Department), giving away $1.8 billion in taxpayers’ money, and no outrage from conservatives. Imagine if this had been Joe Biden!
And, not even a whimper of outrage from conservative voters.
(Note: Several GOP senators did question the fund payout process but not the settlement.)
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” - Galatians 6:9.
Crawford is an author and syndicated columnist from North Jackson.
35 comments:
The column is somewhat mistaken. National Review opposed it several times this week. Erick Erickson opposed it. Erickson reported in his newsletters a bunch of Republican Senators gave Blanche hell over it in a private meeting. If they try to get it through Congress, it will probably fail.
As a conservative and Republican, I emailed our senators and representative to voice my objection to the settlement. I hope others do the same.
These Republicans are too cowardly to be ashamed of themselves. They are plainly more interested in retaining office than asserting the authority of congress or serving the interests of the nation. It is appalling that they have become little better than Trump’s poodles, evidently not minding being so demeaned. Nero would approve of this.
With few exceptions, our elected officials are there to enrich themselves and their families. The corruption is rampant and now the president doesn’t even try to hide it.
A billion here, a billion there, pretty soon you're talking real money.
Cult members often act irrationally and against their own goals and interests.
WSJ editorial page opposed it as well.
At the moment it doesn’t appear it will get approved. DC is a cesspool where almost everyone there is self serving.
"There's no way we're gonna be in a position to fund $1.5 billion for an anti-fraud division when we've got this bogus payout pot for punks. Whoever did it should be fired."
Senator Tom Tiillis
Kingfish—stop acting like some editorials and a couple of complaints by some politicians (who will inevitably vote the way Trump wants them to vote by the end of the day) is meaningful opposition in any sense of the word. Trump knows he can get away with stuff like this because your party bends over and takes it from him at every turn. This is y’all’s fault, plain and simple.
Have the midterms you deserve…
Our current Congress seems more afraid of Trump than of the voters. And some no doubt hope for one party (GOP) absolute control of government. We will see if there are enough Patriots left in the GOP. Trump is not joking when he suggests he will continue to be President in 2028. We'll have some suggestion that it's two " consecutive" terms (it's not). This isn't a popularity contest people, or a game. I vote for the most qualified person and it's time we stopped voting on party loyalty. That's just lazy and ridiculous.
Y’all voted for this. We tried to tell you. The famine, economy, blasphemy, and lawfare is all on you magatards
9:10 nailed it. Most politicians are there for 2 reasons. 1)Enrich themselves any way they can. 2)get re-elected so they can continue #1.
Would the people rather pay Trump the 10 billion instead?
This is a small course correction compared to massive fraud by manipulators of fed programs.
What is left to govern after the current guy is dead? Will someone take the helm and hate on red states? Defund MS and other broke places? How exactly is this going to work? Maybe dissolve 3 poorest states into 1?
(Clears throat)
Trump is not a conservative and never has been.
His supporters are not conservatives.
Conservatives believe in free markets. Republicans favor taxing consumers with protectionist tariffs.
Conservatives support the rule of law. Republicans stormed the Capitol, beat cops and were pardoned by a Republican president who now seeks to reward them with U.S. taxpayer dollars.
Republicans are simply right-wing socialists who hate anyone who criticizes Dear Leader.
The Republican Party is a cult to a sociopath. It should be destroyed & replaced with something conservative.
That is all.
9:34 -
Tillis, Cassidy, McConnell, Cornyn & a couple others are now liberated. Unconstrained from telling Fat Jesus to pound sand till January.
To all Demoncrats and MAGtards.....both parties are the same club, and you ain't in it. They perpetual crap like this to engineer the perception they're fighting. They're all in on the worldwide grift that Netanyahu puppeteers.
NR is at best anti-anti- Trump. They’ll scold Fat Jesus when he crosses a line, but Rich Lowery fellates Trump every other day.
I have to agree, proposal is absolutely nuts; and we have to pay for it. Same with the current unauthorized war. Where are the leaders with principles? Likely trying to go along to protect their next election.
@9:56 - You and your ilk would have been taken seriously if your party had offered any reasonable alternative, so let's cut out the "we told you so" bullshit.
To all Politicians before you send our men and women to war, yours should lead!
I would not be considered a Trump apologist, but I understand him through the lens of a businessman. He is not a historian and not a political scientist. He has used a business approach to a ridiculous, anti-democratic intrusion by the IRS. If anyone has a better idea, let him speak now, because Trump has forced the IRS's hand, so to speak. And, no, he did not sue himself, as Crawford stated. That's hyperbole.
RMQ
What if the real Trump Derangement Syndrome is when people sacrifice all their principles, all their dignity, and all their connection to reality in service of fascism and corruption?
Bucks for Cucks!
Bill, TDS may be treatable.
NR isn't as anti-Trump as it used to be. Goldberg, French, and that crew are pretty much gone. Geraghty does a pretty good job of calling balls and strikes. Lowrey praises Trump in some columns, criticizes him in others. Andrew McCarthy is probably the closest anti-Trump at NR now although during the Bragg prosecution, he penned some pretty thorough pieces on why the prosecution is bogus and why it will fall on appeal.
You want “civil discourse”? Spare me. Crawford’s whole piece reads like a Hallmark card for the same establishment that spent 8 years clutching pearls while Donald Trump turned the GOP into a criminal enterprise and called it “populism.”
“Optimistic that the worm will turn”? The worm turned years ago. It’s been eating the Constitution from the inside out. You don’t negotiate with a guy facing 91 felony counts by teaching college kids to “take sides and dialogue”. That’s not civility. That’s surrender dressed up as virtue.
And Kingfish? You platform this garbage. You sit there reposting Crawford’s sanctimonious hand-wringing about “polarization” like you’re some neutral town crier. You’re not. You’re the enabler who dresses up cowardice as “local journalism” while the house burns. Jackson Jambalaya has spent a decade both-sidesing fascism and calling it balance. You’ll whine about potholes and water bills but when a crook tries to end democracy? Suddenly it’s “let’s all be graceful”. Pathetic.
“Inflexible conservative and obstinate liberal governing coalitions”? Bullshit. One side nominated a guy who tried to overthrow an election. The other side prosecuted him. That’s not “both sides.” That’s law vs crime.
Crawford wants to quote Colossians while democracy gets jacked? Cool. I’ll take James: “Faith without works is dead.” And Kingfish reblogging “good government” Republicans writing think-pieces about tone while Trump sells Bibles and pardons to the highest bidder? That’s as dead as it gets.
Where is conservative principle? It died the day the party decided a crook was worth more than the country. And it stayed dead every time Kingfish hit “publish” on another excuse instead of calling it what it is.
I'd argue the Republican party drove a stake throuigh conservative principles when they nominated and then twice elected the supporting actor for Bonzo the chimp.
It’s hard to take advice from people who thought Biden was the best president ever and Harris was the best choice for America. As a conservative, I am more angry that Trump can’t run for another term. Maybe Democrats will get a far leftest win the nomination who still thinks Blacks can’t think for themselves, illegal migrants need to flood the border and men can get pregnant so y’all will lose again. Because liberals still can’t figure out why they lost the last election.
KF, that's all true, but those Republicans in Congress have not spoken publicly, our loudly, against this brazen illegal act. Yes, a few have just like a few Republicans (like me) have but those in power have yet not done anything to stop it
A few say - we'll, no you can't pay anybody that attacked a police officer, that's going tooooo far, but won't take action to stop the entire process of administration deciding and administration spending non- appropriated dollars - that basic constitutional requirements be damned.
Trump is trying to create a massive fund to pay-off insurrectionists who were (rightfully) prosecuted for trying to overturn a presidential election by rioting at the Capitol, six months before the midterms that will determine whether Trump's last two years if office are shut down by political gridlock.
I don't think the timing is a coincidence. Trump has already signaled that he will pardon any future insurrectionists, by pardoning all past insurrectionists. Now he want to create a $1.8 billion fund to pay them what amounts to about $1 million each for their service.
Gotta love it when the anti-Trump, anti-KF crowd makes JJ some money!
What are the pallets of cash doing?
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