I’ve already written about the Trump Administration using the power of the office to favor supporters (read I Beg Your Pardon or Unpardonable). But political corruption has never been as obscene as the settlement made this week with Donald Trump. For a quick recap, Donald Trump (the person) filed a $10B lawsuit (with his sons on behalf of the Trump Organization) against the IRS for inadequately securing his tax returns (that were leaked along with those of other wealthy Americans to the New York Times in 2020 by a IRS contractor). Nobody really wants to have their tax returns made public – except for nearly every President and Presidential candidate, who have typically released their returns to the public to let them better understand from whence they receive income and how they use the tax system to avoid paying the taxes that the vast majority of Americans pay. With regard to the leak, the President chose not to sue the government in the four years that he was out of office, and well past the two year statute of limitations on claims. Now he is back in office and ostensibly in charge of making decisions about claims he personally makes to the government. And that is the rub.

Once he returned to office, Trump made multiple claims to the government for compensation. Last year, he claimed $230 Million in administrative claims for defending himself during investigations that occurred in the years since he entered politics (the Russian interference investigation, the Presidential Records Act violations, the January 6th insurrection). Despite reports showing that either he or his orbit were involved in each of these blemishes on American history, Donald Trump has persisted in claiming aggrievement. Typical administrative claims would require the claimant to show evidence of the lost expenses – but when the judge is also the claimant, why go through that dance? Because, ultimately, the President would make the decision regarding whether he would be paid (and if he directed someone in the Treasury or Justice Department to make that decision, do you really believe that they would say no?). The conflicts of interest are so obvious, they need not require explanation.

Which brings us to the lawsuit against the IRS. The $10 Billion claim is about as ludicrous as they come – and in a court of law, there would be an expectation of the litigant to support their demand for the specific dollar amount (seems like Trump’s net worth did just fine after the leak). But the real problem with the lawsuit became a constitutional one – the judge questioned the ability of the President to essentially sue the entity of which he is the executive (indeed the leak occurred during his first administration). That legal conundrum likely boxed the Donald Trump in and forced his hand to pursue a dismissal of the lawsuit. But in an epic end-run around the legal system, he directed the Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche (his former criminal attorney) to settle the claim against the IRS in return for the dismissal of the unconstitutional case. In settling, Trump and his team guarantee a positive and lucrative outcome, without any deliberative body granting approval.

If the act of settling the case was not egregious enough, the settlement itself represents one of most galling pieces of public corruption in American history. It creates a $1.776 billion ‘anti-weaponization’ fund to payoff those who feel aggrieved by actions made by the last administration. Other than feeling as if a person is “targeted”, there is no objective criteria for claiming money from the fund. But the settlement is particular about the targeting needed to have taken place during a Democratic administration (no targeted individuals by the Trump Administration need apply – even if they have already won in court!). The precedent set by one administration using the US Treasury to provide handouts to its allies who feel hurt by a previous administration is a gate-opening to a pigsty that most of America could not have thought conceivable.

And who is likely to apply for this largesse? Well, first to the trough are likely to be the 1,500 or so convicted criminals that were pardoned by President Trump, including for their actions during the January 6th insurrection. Like the woman convicted of using a battering ram to break through the windows of the Capitol Building. So abused! Or Andrew Paul Johnson, a 6er sentenced to life in prison for child molestation after his presidential pardon – Blanche couldn’t rule out a payment. Perhaps Tina Peters, a woman in Colorado who admitted to permitting partisans to breach security (in her capacity as a county clerk) to access election equipment in hopes of proving that the 2020 election was rigged. She admits that she did it and was convicted in state court (not by Federal authorities) – but she already has her attorney to work on a claim, and VP Vance indicates that she could be eligible. Even George Santos, the expelled congressman who lied about who he was and his finances amongst so many other things, is likely to make a claim. There are plenty of other convicted criminals in line behind them. Almost makes the Americans who didn’t break the law and get convicted feel silly for holding on to their law and order values – almost.

If the taxpayer giveaway to criminals wasn’t enough, then the secondary settlement (coming as an addenda the day after the ‘anti-weaponization’ fund was established) took the cake. That settlement prohibits the IRS from pursuing any an all claims against Trump and the Trump Organization for anything up to the date of the agreement. This ‘settlement’ (remember, this is Donald Trump making an agreement with President Donald Trump) is thought to be worth upwards of $100 million dollars. Let us remember the Constitution – Article II, Section 1, clause 7 – the domestic emoluments clause, prohibiting the President from receiving “any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.” with the exception of his/her salary. Thus, a lawsuit that would not have passed the statute of limitations bar, let alone any reasonable valuation, has been converted into a corrupt self-dealing settlement using taxpayer funds.

All of this public coffer embezzlement has not made the Congress happy. The Senate, on the verge of having a budget reconciliation vote to fund ICE and Homeland Security, had to pull the bill from the floor when they realized that the Democrats would force them to vote on amendments that related to the new fund and likely the tax ‘settlement’. The House was in revolt as well, as they couldn’t muster the votes to stop a bill forcing the President to wind down the Iran war. And the Congress as a whole should be rightfully embarrassed by their lack of accountability when providing billions of dollars to the Executive for the purpose of lawsuit settlements with no caps and no oversight of payments. The Constitution vests the power of purse with Congress – these agreements are the most striking evidence yet of Congress’ abdication of their responsibilities (as inconvenient as they may have seemed).

Every week appears to come with a new element of unethical behavior and lawlessness. And the national disgrace continues…