United States President Donald Trump created a $1.776 billion government slush fund, on May 18, to funnel public money to allies and supporters he claims were “harmed” by the Joe Biden administration.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) established the so-called Anti-Weaponisation Fund. Its dollar amount was chosen to represent the year of the US Declaration of Independence.
Some critics have labeled it a “thugs fund”.
The fund is designed to compensate individuals claiming to be victims of "government weaponisation" or political targeting. This includes the thugs who were convicted of storming the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in a bid to overturn the election result, after Trump lost to Biden.
Trump has already pardoned many of the January 6 insurrectionists, who smashed their way into the building, terrorised members of Congress, assaulted police and anyone who stood in their way.
Some Republicans in the Congress have joined Democrats in denouncing the fund as blatant corruption. Trump’s Attorney General, Todd Blanche, will select the committee that decides who get the money.
White supremacist paramilitary leaders reportedly knew about the fund before it was publicly announced and are demanding millions.
The New York Times slammed the DOJ in a May 24 opinion piece, labeling it the “Department of Corruption”.
Immunity
The fund originates from a deal made to settle a $10 billion lawsuit brought by Trump, his sons and the Trump Organization against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of Treasury (DOT) earlier this year.
Trump et al sued the IRS and DOT, alleging that they had allowed a contractor to leak Trump’s tax returns to the public during his first term as president, raising suspicions of tax evasion.
Had the matter gone to the courts, Trump would have been represented by his personal legal team and the IRS and DOT would have been defended by government lawyers who, in effect, act on Trump’s behalf under his authoritarian rule.
This could have led to an outcome where potentially billions of dollars would have been handed over from public funds to the Trump family and their businesses.
Instead, in return for dropping the lawsuit, the slush fund was established and the DOJ granted Trump, his family and businesses immunity from ongoing inquiries into their taxes — “a potentially lucrative arrangement that could shield the president from significant financial liability,” the NYT said.
Blanche, as head of the DOJ, signed the document settling the lawsuit.
According to the signed addendum, the government would be “FOREVER BARRED and PRECLUDED from prosecuting or pursuing” pending tax claims against Trump, his family members and businesses. It applies to all tax claims made up to one week before the settlement date.
An inquiry has been opened by the District Court judge into the Trump lawsuit and settlement, to determine whether it amounted to “serious misconduct” and an abuse of the court system. Nevertheless, no previous president has made such a public, in-your-face validation of corruption.
Corruption
But Trump’s policies go way beyond this, making his administration the most corrupt ever.
After his 2016 election, Trump responded, when asked by a journalist about mixing his personal finances with his new office, by saying: “The law is on my side. The president can’t have a conflict of interest.”
University of California Berkeley scholar Saurav Ghosh slammed Trump’s rampant corruption in a March 4 article published in the American Bar Association’s Human Rights Magazine.
“Since returning to the White House in January 2025, President Donald Trump has made it abundantly clear that his administration offers a wide range of benefits to those with pockets deep enough to pay the price of admission,” wrote Ghosh. “Trump caters to the wealthiest and most powerful — billionaires, CEOs of major corporations, the extremely well-heeled and well-connected — as long as they are willing to pay for the privilege…”
‘Pay to play’
Trump has populated the top ranks of his administration with major donors, including Elon Musk.
Musk, a white racist South African immigrant, spent nearly $300 million underwriting Trump’s 2024 election campaign. He was initially rewarded with the task of slashing federally-funded programs, as head of the Orwellian Department of Government Efficiency. Musk used his involvement in the government to gain an advantage for his Space X firm and more, before he fell out with Trump.
Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Secretary of Energy Christ Wright, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Senator Kelly Loeffler, the administrator of the Small Business Administration, all donated hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars to Trump-aligned political groups.
All the administration’s officials follow Trump’s orders.
Trump has appointed major donors to diplomatic positions regardless of their qualifications for the job.
For example, Anjani Sinha, an orthopedic surgeon who donated $1 million to Trump’s MAGA Political Action Committee (PAC), couldn’t answer basic questions at his Senate confirmation hearing about Singapore, the country he sought to serve as a US ambassador.
Jarad Kushner’s father Charles — who in 2004 pleaded guilty to 16 federal criminal charges before Trump pardoned him at the end of his first term — gave $2 million to Trump’s 2024 campaign and pro-Trump super PACs. This won him Trump’s nomination to serve as the ambassador to France.
The nomination for US ambassador to Britain went to Trump donor, Warren Stephens, after he donated millions to Trump’s 2024 campaign.
Trump has also pardoned or commuted the sentences of people who have donated to his campaigns. His administration has looked the other way when leaders of crypto currency businesses have broken the law, after they donated handsome amounts to Trump’s causes.
Companies have been forced to make lucrative payments to “settle” lawsuits Trump has frivolously made against them. Universities have made big settlements to avoid federal funding cuts stemming from charges of antisemitism — for allowing pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campuses.
Internationally, Trump he has used US influence to build his family’s business interests. The Trump Organization built a Trump Tower in Saudi Arabia, a Trump Hotel in Oman and a Trump golf club in Vietnam.
“We’re the hottest brand in the world right now,” Trump’s son Eric proclaimed.
Qatar gave the White House a $400 million Boeing 747-8, in May — to gain political favour with Trump’s regime.
There are many other examples of Trump’s “pay-to-play” politics, and still more that are yet to be uncovered.