Many conservatives are gleeful over the announcement by the Trump administration that they are establishing a $1.7 billion fund to pay individuals who are claimed to have been harmed politically via government “lawfare.”
They have the right to be angry that the government was politicized in the Biden administration, which went after Trump and his allies.
But the answer is not to do as the Trump administration is proposing: placing money into a kitty and divvying it out as they deem appropriate, But that’s exactly what would happen when these types of settlements would come to fruition.
In essence, it would be a case of the Trump administration suing itself, and then settling on its own behalf with payoffs coming from taxpayer dollars.
Conservatives should think about how they would feel if Democrats did this. Oh, wait! They have.
A glaring example is what the administration of New York City mayor Bill de Blasio did. The mayor handed out cash to his political allies by granting them tens of thousands of dollars in settlements after claiming that they were abused by police in the riots that ensued after the murder of George Floyd in the summer of 2020.
Many conservatives thought it was an outrage that those who were destroying property, closing down traffic and even assaulting others were turning around and suing the police for trying to bring about order during these riots and de Blasio was quickly settling, without a fight, to give them big bucks.
Of course, those who feel aggrieved by government lawfare should have redress. But there have to be guardrails.
First off, those feeling aggrieved should have to actually initiate litigation in the court system. Secondly, no allocation should be permitted for a settlement without approval from Congress or city councils.
Without these checks and balances, those empowered — be they Democrats or Republicans — will have a slush fund to reward their allies.
There’s no question that lawfare is disgraceful and has exploded over the last six years, but be careful what you wish for when you start imposing remedies. When you’re out of power, it may come back to bite you.