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Should taxpayer funds be given to Trump allies – including Jan. 6 insurrectionists – in settlement of a Trump family lawsuit, when that settlement was reached by a Trump-controlled Department of Justice?
That’s the question Amherst College scholar Austin Sarat plumbs from both a philosophical and legal perspective in light of the $1.8 billion pot of money that the Justice Department just announced has been established to provide “a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress.” Those victims are widely believed to be Jan. 6 rioters.
In his inquiry about the morals and legality of what’s being called the “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” Sarat draws from many sources, including the ancient Greeks, who “worried about what happens when people are called on to make judgments in cases where they are involved.” He cites Thomas Hobbes in 17th century England, who “believed that insurrectionists relinquish their status as citizens the moment they seek to overthrow the government and should never be rewarded for doing so.” James Madison and the judge overseeing the Trump family lawsuit against the IRS also make appearances.
Despite the massive outcry sparked by the announcement of this fund, there’s one person who wasn’t surprised by the development. In my interview with legal scholar Paul Figley of American University, he describes the warnings he has made over many years to Congress and the public that, without necessary reforms, taxpayer money could be used by an administration for political ends in just this way.
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Naomi Schalit
Politics and Legal Affairs Editor
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A banner featuring President Trump on the outside of the DOJ building in Washington, D.C.
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Austin Sarat, Amherst College
Donald Trump’s suit against the IRS and the settlement creating a $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund to compensate his allies raise important moral and constitutional issues.
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Politics + Society
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Paul Figley, American University
The Judgment Fund’s likely use as a slush fund to pay Trump allies comes after more than a decade of repeated warnings by one scholar that the pot of taxpayer money was vulnerable to political misuse.
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John Broich, Case Western Reserve University
Loyalty outranks expertise, and reality bends to the leader’s word. From Nazi Germany to Imperial Japan, fascist war machines collapse on the same contradictions.
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International
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Brian O'Neill, Georgia Institute of Technology
Targeted killings can disrupt an adversary, but they rarely lead to collapse — especially when the target is a nation-state like Iran.
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Health + Medicine
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Jamie Rowen, UMass Amherst
Many veterans struggle with addiction, mental health conditions and homelessness after military service. Veterans Treatment Courts aim to help – but they need stable funding to do so.
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Bruce Y. Lee, City University of New York; Hannah Dimmick, CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Public Policy
The US lacks the capacity to treat long COVID, and HHS defunding is taking the country further away from being able to handle the country’s growing number of long COVID cases.
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Science + Technology
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Scott Solomon, Rice University
SpaceX is poised to test its latest, most powerful rocket and to become a publicly traded company, all while under pressure from environmentalists.
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Environment + Energy
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Alejandro E. Camacho, University of California, Los Angeles; Robert Glicksman, George Washington University
Calls for the Supreme Court to give fossil fuel companies immunity from liability for climate-related damage misreads the Constitution, precedent and the role of courts.
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Economy + Business
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Richard Sheehan, University of Notre Dame
While FIFA’s revenues have exploded as fans pay higher-than-ever prices, the relative share of money going to support global soccer development has decreased.
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Sarah Webber, University of Dayton
The responsibility for policing nonprofits generally falls to state attorneys general, rather than federal authorities.
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Education
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Austin Sarat, Amherst College
It’s no longer uncommon for scheduled university commencement speakers to have their invitations rescinded following backlash over their politics.
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