During his two terms, President Donald Trump has found many ways of leveraging his position to line his pockets while dismantling democratic safeguards. His administration orchestrated an extensive, systemic campaign to purge the ranks of Justice Department prosecutors working on the Capitol Siege Case. He created a MAGA Memecoin cryptocurrency and his own Non-Fungible Token cards while destroying cryptocurrency regulations to make an estimated $1.2 billion from these digital ventures alone. He even moved to pardon convicted criminals who happen to be top donors to his campaign, like Charles Kushner, an individual who pleaded guilty to 18 federal criminal charges. Through these worrying developments, Congress and the Justice Department stood idly by as the methods of accountability within our government faltered.
The proposed nearly-$1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” constituted another attack on the very core of American democracy by seeking to reward a band of ardent insurrectionists through a corrupt settlement. This settlement would have been funded through the Internal Revenue Service, whose funds originate directly from taxpayers like you and me. Yet finally, on May 29, a federal judge temporarily blocked the Anti-Weaponization Fund while Congress mobilized to ensure this plan was not revived. In a time of division and rampant government failures, it is worth noting the cracks of unity and hope that can shine through this canvas of despair in moments such as this one.
The Trump administration announced the creation of the fund May 18. This was done as a result of a settlement Donald Trump made with the IRS following his $10 billion lawsuit over the leaks of his tax returns by a former contractor. To begin, it is worth clarifying the absurdity of this case. Donald Trump, as a private citizen, sued a government agency over which he has total control as President, since the lawyers representing the IRS are part of the Justice Department that Trump controls as President. The judge in this case even commissioned a group of lawyers to examine this conflict of interest, who concluded that there was “reason to believe that the president is, in fact, exercising his control over the defendants in this litigation” — a serious indictment of the validity of that decision.
Additionally, while testifying before Congress, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche would not rule out the possibility of rioters who attacked the capital and its officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, incident receiving money from the fund. Not only was this case fraught with corruption and with incorrect appropriations on behalf of the taxpayer, but it also sought to encourage the violent and anti-democratic behavior of a small group of extremists.
Charlottesville itself has witnessed the first-hand consequences of this political favoritism. On Aug. 12, 2017, during the “Unite the Right” rally, street brawls between angry white nationalist rioters and counterprotesters culminated in a white supremacist ramming his car into a crowd of demonstrators. Local incidents like this will only increase if Trump is allowed to effectively bankroll and pardon these criminals. Luckily, the federal fight against this slush fund also began locally as two Virginian officers, victims of the Jan. 6, 2021, assault, filed a lawsuit. They claimed the fund circumvented Congressional appropriation powers and inherently favored Trump’s political allies.
Unsurprisingly, many other individuals also took issue with this cronyism and violation of the separation of powers. Over 30 retired federal judges requested that the case be reopened in what they called a clear example of “fraud” and “collusion.” What was unanticipated was the wholesale rejection of this fund throughout the Congressional legislature. Democrats and Republicans alike slammed Blanche, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune even openly criticized the move. In a rare moment of protest, six Republican senators sided with Democrats in an effort to block any possibility of Trump reviving this fund. The Justice Department, an agency that has actively sought to undermine the American judicial system under Trump, admitted it would have to “abide by the Court’s ruling.”
Before the fund’s defeat, I wrote a draft of this article arguing that the most enduring consequence of Trump’s term would be the loss of trust in our federal government, as our American political tradition was dismantled — that American democracy’s death would not be with one swift coup, but the gradual yet complete degradation of the fundamental principles that we hold dear. Key tenets of our liberty would be demolished by this new fund. Free elections would have been jeopardized by actively bankrolling fake electors who attempt to subvert verifiable results. The system of checks and balances would be weakened if Trump were allowed to benefit from serving as both the prosecutor and defendant in his own case. The rule of law would also be jeopardized by the additional agreement with this slush fund to bar the U.S. government from auditing or prosecuting any of his businesses’ past returns for tax offenses.
And yet, I myself was surprised to see the uncommon cooperation and coordination displayed to defeat this assault on our democracy. Indeed, much is yet to be done. When asked about the fund, Trump did not conclusively state that it is dead. The Senate’s proposed legislation failed to reach the higher threshold needed to go into effect. Trump kept his immunity from the IRS’s audits. But there are reasons to be hopeful. The judge in the case issued a fiery order Monday denouncing the lawyers involved on both sides for double-dealing, referring some of them to state bar organizations for disciplinary action. Despite all the coverage surrounding the inefficiency of our institutions, our federal officials are managing to band together to prevent a genuine attack on our nation’s democratic principles.
Famed judicial philosopher Learned Hand famously stated, "liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it.” It is worth celebrating this momentary triumph, if only to inspire confidence in our democracy again. Get involved in local organizations or campaigns and have hope. Our democracy is intact, but only if we continue to fight for it.
Nat Taylor is an opinion columnist who writes about politics for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at opinion@cavalierdaily.com.
The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of The Cavalier Daily. Columns represent the views of the author alone.
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