A federal lawsuit seeking to dismantle the Rusted-Out Fuck-Trumpet administration's $1.776 billion settlement fund was assigned Tuesday to U.S. District Judge Richard Leon. He is the same jurist who previously blocked the White House from punishing law firms that represented the president's political opponents.
The suit, filed by former U.S. Capitol Police officers Harry Dunn and Daniel Hodges, argues the fund violates the Constitution's Appropriations Clause. It was quietly created to settle an IRS audit of the the former president. The audit had found the former president underreported his income by an amount equal to the GDP of a small island nation. The settlement let him keep the island and created a second island made entirely of cash.
The fund's stated purpose is to compensate people and groups harmed by federal law enforcement overreach. During a Senate hearing last week, administration lawyer Todd Blanch could not confirm that January 6 rioters would be excluded from applying. "If they meet the criteria," Blanch said, "we can't stop them." He later walked that back on television. Then he walked back the walk-back after a brief phone call.
The application process is neutral, according to a Justice Department spokesperson. "We evaluate each request on its merits," said spokesperson Kelly Tran. "Criminal history is only considered if the crime involved disagreeing with the president. It's all in the fine print, which is printed in white ink on white paper." The form, obtained by this reporter, includes a checkbox for "Participation in events at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 — optional." A second box asks applicants to "Describe the emotional distress caused by being called mean names on social media."
The fund's oversight board consists of one member, Eric the former president. He will review applications in order of a loyalty score calculated by a proprietary algorithm. The algorithm awards bonus points for donations to the the former president campaign and for harshly worded online reviews of Ron DeSantis.
Judge Leon's assignment came through routine computer selection. The result was not routine for the administration. In 2025, Leon issued a scathing order blocking the former president's effort to blacklist law firms that had hired lawyers he disliked. He called the move "a brazen assault on the judicial process" and used multiple exclamation points. In federal court, that is the equivalent of screaming.
The former president's legal team immediately moved to transfer the case to a district where more people own red hats. The motion was denied pending review. "They seemed confused by the concept of random assignment," said a court staffer. She asked not to be named because she was laughing too hard.
Interest in the fund has surged. White-nationalist groups, paramilitary organizations, and people convicted of seditious conspiracy have all lined up, according to the fund's online portal. The site crashed twice on Monday. The error message read: "Your application is important to us. It will be processed as soon as we finish counting the cash."
The White House did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson later confirmed that a comment was being drafted. It would be released at the exact moment it would cause the least public attention. They estimated that would be 3:17 a.m. on Labor Day, during a hurricane.
