Dems corner GOP on Trump's 'rank corruption' as public sours

On Monday it was revealed that President Donald Trump would drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS in exchange for a $1.776 billion settlement that would be used to create an “anti-weaponization fund” for those who claim to have been “wronged” by former President Joe Biden. The Department of Justice will oversee the fund, which critics have decried as amounting to a “slush fund” for Trump loyalists.

Now, according to the New Republic columnist Greg Sargent, not only is this “one of the most corrupt presidential acts in modern history,” but it may have Republicans cornered, forcing them to defend what is likely to be an unpopular action as they face an already uphill battle going into the midterms.

As Sargent explains, it isn’t difficult to see why the fund is so devious. The fund is “effectively controlled by Trump while operating outside any government procedures. That means no transparency into the payments — and no congressional oversight. The cash will apparently go to whomever Trump wants, since he can fire the fund’s board members for any reason.”

In an attempt to counter it, Representative Jamie Raskin (D-MD) told Sargent that “House Democrats plan to introduce a bill that would block the fund and other future efforts like it. While it’s unclear exactly how this will play out in each chamber, Raskin says the bill will have the full support of the Democratic caucus and the leadership — and that Democrats will pursue a discharge petition to get it to the floor around the GOP leadership.”

Said Raskin, “We need to put Republicans on the spot as to whether or not they are going to endorse this rank corruption, or whether they are going to stand up for basic constitutional values.”

Sargent says that such a vote could have serious consequences for the Republicans, as it would “make them defend this brazen corruption at a time when Trump’s approval rating on the economy is in the toilet and the country is awash in deep and widespread economic dissatisfaction.”

The latest polls support Sargent’s assertion that Americans are already fed up with Trump's approach to finances. A New York Times poll released this week found that the president has a mere 33 percent approval rating on the economy, versus 64 percent who disapprove, and this is hitting Republican midterm chances more broadly. In a generic ballot matchup, Democrats lead Republicans by 11 points, and among independent voters, that lead jumps up to 18 points. As Sargent notes, “Independents famously react badly to corruption,” and “the slush fund will be absolutely toxic among them.”

According to Sargent, a rant by Trump on Monday suggests the political opportunity the fund presents to Democrats. After a reporter asked Trump why taxpayer money should go to January 6 rioters, he declared, “This is reimbursing people that were horribly treated. They’ve been in some cases imprisoned wrongly. They’ve paid legal fees that they didn’t have. They’ve gone bankrupt. Their lives have been destroyed. And they turned out to be right.”

“In short,” explains Sargent, “Trump admits his fund is designed to grant taxpayer money to the January 6 rioters for the expressly declared purpose of rewarding them for trying to overturn a lawful election on his behalf with mob violence. Let Republicans defend that.”

Whether out of political expediency or genuine disgust, many Republicans are already reacting with outrage. As the editors of the famously conservative magazine the National Review pointed out in an editorial lambasting the settlement, “Hard-to-supervise slush funds aimed at financing well-connected political allies are exactly the sort of thing a populist presidency is supposed to end."

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) admitted that he’s “not a fan of it” and that he doesn’t “see a purpose” for it. A former advisor to Secretary of State Marco Rubio called it an “outrageous attempt by the president to loot billions of taxpayer funds.” And according to media personality Geraldo Rivera, who often expresses support for Trump’s policies, “Giving taxpayer money to January 6 rioters is nauseating.”

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