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The Judgment Fund: Democrat’s Secret Slush Fund for Ideological Payoffs
amuse on 𝕏 ^ | 19 Nov, 2024 | @amuse

Posted on 11/20/2024 6:08:18 AM PST by MtnClimber

The Democratic Party, in its infinite wisdom—or perhaps simply its knack for unaccountable government spending—has managed to turn the Justice Department into a highly effective money laundering operation for its favorite interest groups. This is not some new caper, by the way; it's a practice perfected under the Obama-Biden regime, and it has reached grotesque proportions since Biden's triumphant (or rather, cognitively uncertain) return to the Oval Office. The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), under the capable stewardship of Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, needs to tackle this glaring example of unchecked executive abuse. To put it plainly, these "settlements" aren't for justice—they're political payoffs.

Now, let’s be clear about what the Judgment Fund is supposed to do. It was originally created back in 1956 to efficiently pay out legal judgments against the federal government. There was a time when Congress actually acted like Congress and exercised some control over these funds. There was a cap of $100,000 on settlements that required congressional oversight for anything higher—an excellent system of checks and balances, in the spirit of the founders' intent. But in 1977, Congress decided to hand the Justice Department a blank check, removing the cap entirely and allowing this fund to pay out whatever it pleased, without needing any kind of Congressional approval. And what happens when you give a government agency unchecked authority over taxpayer money? The fund turned into a slush fund, plain and simple.

You see, the Obama administration figured out how to exploit this. Tony West, the brother-in-law of Vice President Kamala Harris, spearheaded a new way to distribute funds from this unmonitored money pot. Emails revealed how his department was actively seeking out ways to funnel cash to favored nonprofits and NGOs, a wish list for loyal Democratic allies. Instead of going to legitimate claimants, settlements started being diverted to politically aligned lawyers and organizations, with many of these cases settled just as the government was about to win them outright. Convenient, isn’t it? The payoffs were enormous—sometimes reaching billions of dollars—with those politically-aligned lawyers raking in hundreds of millions in fees.

This sordid tradition of using the Justice Department for political ends continued unabated into Biden's term, extending beyond financial settlements to significantly impact policy. For example, Biden used the slush fund to pay off the ACLU and their lawyers, who sued on behalf of illegal border crossers detained with minors. The resulting settlement not only prevented Biden from arresting and detaining any illegal alien caught smuggling a minor across the border but also prohibited all future presidents from doing so for the next eight years. If left unchallenged, this settlement would prevent President Trump or any future administration from arresting illegal border crossers as long as they bring children....SNIP


TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: 1956; 1977; biden; corruption; democrats; doj; judgementfund; kamalaharris; kamalasbrother; obama; obamanation; slushfund; tonywest
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1 posted on 11/20/2024 6:08:18 AM PST by MtnClimber
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To: MtnClimber

How much corruption traces back to 0bama?


2 posted on 11/20/2024 6:08:29 AM PST by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: MtnClimber

More corrupt, and marxist-ideological fruits of a printed, fiat monetary system, and the massive government debt it supports.


3 posted on 11/20/2024 6:10:04 AM PST by PGR88
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To: MtnClimber; Carriage Hill

4 posted on 11/20/2024 6:11:09 AM PST by kiryandil (No one in AZ that voted for Trump voted for Gallego )
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To: MtnClimber
Always amazed me. Federal district in Manhattan indicts big bank A for accounting irregularities harming bank A's customers. Bank A agrees to settle with the DOJ for hundreds of millions, with no admission of wrongdoing, using customers money to pay the settlement.

So the DOJ Steals from you to a much greater extent than Bank A, and then the DOJ holds a press conference to inform the customers they have worked tirelessly to hold Bank A accountable.

The DOJ then keeps the cash.

This happens a half a dozen or so times a year, and the news media never asks a single question about the scheme.

5 posted on 11/20/2024 6:20:21 AM PST by blackdog ((Z28.310) Be careful what you say. Your refrigerator may be listening & reporting you.)
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To: MtnClimber

Now you know the real reason many Democrats have a need to leave the country quickly.


6 posted on 11/20/2024 6:33:06 AM PST by allendale
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To: MtnClimber

What happened during the Trump term?


7 posted on 11/20/2024 6:34:14 AM PST by SomeCallMeTim
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To: SomeCallMeTim

Trump never got an AG that would reign in the DOJ. I am sure this was happening during his term too.


8 posted on 11/20/2024 6:43:01 AM PST by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: GOPJ; poconopundit; Jane Long; Diana in Wisconsin; Grampa Dave; Godzilla; Vaduz; null and void; ...

p


9 posted on 11/20/2024 7:00:11 AM PST by Liz (The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to RULE. (H.L, Mencken))
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To: MtnClimber

Democrats of all stripes are either one of two things

Evil, Corruptible, Ideological, and Malicious

OR

Ignorant, Lazy, Gullible, and Malleable.

There is no middle ground.


10 posted on 11/20/2024 8:26:13 AM PST by rlmorel ("A people that elect corrupt politicians are not victims...but accomplices." George Orwell)
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To: SomeCallMeTim

Why should what happened in the Trump Administration be of any interest or value whatsoever, given that his ability to do ANYTHING was being completely hamstrung by Democrats, RINOs, and the Deep State?

I see your post as a complete and total non-sequitur.


11 posted on 11/20/2024 8:28:35 AM PST by rlmorel ("A people that elect corrupt politicians are not victims...but accomplices." George Orwell)
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To: kiryandil

</GRIN!>


12 posted on 11/20/2024 9:47:44 AM PST by Carriage Hill (A society grows great when old men plant trees, in whose shade they know they will never sit.)
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To: MtnClimber

You see, the Obama administration figured out how to exploit this.

Once a street hustler always a hustler and the better hoods give better pickings.


13 posted on 11/20/2024 11:26:09 AM PST by Vaduz
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To: rlmorel

I’m just curious to see whether our team took advantage of these rules to favor conservative groups. The article said it “continued through the Biden admin”.

At the same level ? In the same direction ? I’d just like to know


14 posted on 11/20/2024 3:06:06 PM PST by SomeCallMeTim
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To: SomeCallMeTim

Ah. Okay.

Your question seemed to me to be the same criticisms of the Founding Fathers that are summarized by:

“If they really didn’t believe in Slavery, why didn’t they ban it from the beginning.” (as if they didn’t have anything else going on at the time, or the effort would have murdered the nascent Republic as it lay in its cradle)

What you are asking is if Republicans leverage the same slush fund mentioned in the linked article that the Democrats do, and in the same way.

Do I have that right?


15 posted on 11/20/2024 3:37:18 PM PST by rlmorel ("A people that elect corrupt politicians are not victims...but accomplices." George Orwell)
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To: rlmorel

Yes. I heard a lot about this fund when Obama was doing it. It was in the news all the time. But I haven’t heard a peep about since. I guess I assumed it stopped when Trump took over. Now, I’m surprised to find out that it continued, but the reporting about it stopped. What’s that about?

I’ll try to look up some data on it. I’d really like to understand what the story really is. I have a feeling there’s more to it than what this reporter tells us.


16 posted on 11/20/2024 7:32:14 PM PST by SomeCallMeTim
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To: SomeCallMeTim

I had heard about it some years back as well. There are so many tentacles to the Left...this seems like just one to me.


17 posted on 11/21/2024 3:50:30 AM PST by rlmorel ("A people that elect corrupt politicians are not victims...but accomplices." George Orwell)
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To: SomeCallMeTim
"...Tony West, the brother-in-law of Vice President Kamala Harris, spearheaded a new way to distribute funds from this unmonitored money pot. Emails revealed how his department was actively seeking out ways to funnel cash to favored nonprofits and NGOs, a wish list for loyal Democratic allies. Instead of going to legitimate claimants, settlements started being diverted to politically aligned lawyers and organizations, with many of these cases settled just as the government was about to win them outright..."

So. If I understand this correctly, they may even be encouraging lawsuits by favored non-profits and NGO's with the full intent to simply to a payout.

That is so repulsive and disgusting, even in light of the other astonishingly immoral behavior on the left, that it boggles the mind. But...this is what they do. It is their raison d'etre.

18 posted on 11/21/2024 3:55:32 AM PST by rlmorel ("A people that elect corrupt politicians are not victims...but accomplices." George Orwell)
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To: rlmorel
In Ayn Randian terms:

LOOTERS: Evil, Corruptible, Ideological, and Malicious

OR

MOOCHERS: Ignorant, Lazy, Gullible, and Malleable.

19 posted on 11/21/2024 5:03:21 AM PST by Aevery_Freeman (Minnesota apologizes for WALZ! We are politically challenged.)
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To: Aevery_Freeman

One of the things I have found most alarming about Orwell’s “1984” is that instead of being used as a cautionary tale, the Left has been using it as a policy guide.

Same with Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”. I was amazed at how prescient she was when she wrote that book back in 1957, and now...it appears she must have had access to a time machine when she wrote it.


20 posted on 11/21/2024 5:40:36 AM PST by rlmorel ("A people that elect corrupt politicians are not victims...but accomplices." George Orwell)
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