A bipartisan group of 35 former federal judges has filed a lawsuit in Florida challenging Donald Trump's creation of a $1.776bn (£1.4bn) 'anti-weaponisation fund', which they claim would funnel taxpayer money to his political allies. The lawsuit, filed in the southern district of Florida on Wednesday, seeks to reopen Trump's legal case against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over the leaking of his tax information.
Trump had been seeking $10bn in damages but settled the case earlier this month, allowing him to set up what critics have called a 'slush fund' for his allies, potentially including those convicted for their role in the 6 January 2021 Capitol riot. The former judges argue the settlement was 'a product of collusion and is itself a fraud on the Court', urging Judge Kathleen Williams to reconsider her approval of the deal.
The lawsuit contends that reopening the case would allow the court to investigate whether it was deceived, including regarding the existence of an underlying case or controversy and any purported arms-length negotiations. Critics believe Judge Williams was undercut by the settlement days before she was set to rule on the merits of Trump's IRS lawsuit.
Opposition to the fund has grown, with retired US Capitol police officer Harry Dunn and Metropolitan police officer Daniel Hodges also suing Trump last week. They described the fund as 'the most brazen act of presidential corruption this century', arguing it encourages violence by insurrectionists. Even some Republicans have expressed concern, with a recent poll showing 52% of Republicans opposed to the fund.
