Is Trump's $1.7+ billion "anti-weaponization fund" legal? Experts weigh in.

Washington — The Justice Department's new $1.776 billion fund to provide payouts to people alleging the legal system was "weaponized" against them was met with immediate scrutiny and questions surrounding its legality, enforcement and implementation. The Justice Department has said that there are no "partisan requirements" to seek compensation, but if its past settlements and actions and statements from lawyers and communications professionals are any indication, it's likely that President Trump's highest-profile supporters and allies may stand to benefit. The fund was established as part of a settlement agreement between Mr. Trump and the Internal Revenue Service to end a civil lawsuit he and his sons filed in January over the leak of his tax returns by an independent contractor. Dubbed the anti-weaponization fund, the program aims to "provide a systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare." The "anti-weaponization" program is set to receive nearly $1.8 billion from the Judgment Fund , which was set up by Congress in 1956 to pay court judgments and settlements of lawsuits against the government. When the Judgment Fund was first created, it was limited to judgments for claims of up to $100,000, but in the mid-1970s, Congress removed the cap. Neither the Justice Department nor the White House has specified the criteria for who would be eligible for an award from the new fund or whether there would be a cap on payouts. …