A top lawyer in the Treasury Department reportedly resigned Monday after the Trump administration unveiled a $1.7 billion fund that could distribute taxpayer money to allies of the president who were investigated by previous administrations.
Brian Morrissey, former general counsel for the Treasury, stepped down from his position just seven months after being confirmed by the Senate. In a resignation letter, he thanked Secretary Scott Bessent and President Donald Trump, people familiar with the matter told the New York Times.
His resignation came hours after the Justice Department announced it had created an “anti-weaponization fund” to compensate those who the administration claims were wrongly investigated or prosecuted – such as January 6 defendants.
The fund has been decried as a “slush fund” by prominent Democrats such as Hillary Clinton and dozens of lawmakers, including Republican Senator Bill Cassidy.
Morrissey did not make a public statement indicating he resigned as a result of the billion-dollar fund. However, the Treasury Department would be responsible for distributing payments to individuals who claimed the Biden administration weaponized the government’s legal system to pursue prosecution.
A spokesperson for the Treasury confirmed Morrissey was leaving.
“As General Counsel, Brian Morrissey has served the United States Treasury with both honor and integrity. We wish him all the best in his next endeavors,” the Treasury spokesperson said.
The Independent has asked the Justice Department and Morrissey for comment.
Lawmakers, activists and lawyers have expressed outrage at the unusual $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization fund,” accusing the president and members of the Justice Department of putting politics over the rule of law.
“Senior DOJ leadership has willingly put politics before the law, servility to the president before their oaths, and overseen the destruction of the department,” Gregg Nunziata, a conservative lawyer and Executive Director for the Rule of Law, wrote on X.
Cassidy, a Republican senator who lost his primary this week after falling out with Trump, told reporters there was little legal precedent for the fund and that it would have to be approved by Congress first.
“People are concerned about making their own ends meet, not about putting a slush fund together without a legal precedent. We’re a nation of laws,” Cassidy said, according to The Hill. “If there needs to be a settlement, let’s consider it, and Congress should come together and decide on that.”
Robert Reich, the former secretary of labor under the Clinton administration, said he hadn’t seen anything like the creation of the “slush fund” in his 50 years in politics.
“It makes Nixon look like a boy scout,” Reich wrote.
Scott Jennings, a conservative political commentator who has defended Trump on TV, admitted on CNN’s NewsNight the creation of the fund made him a “little uncomfortable.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, called on Republican colleagues to “put a stop to this rank corruption,” and referred to the settlement as a “slush fund.”
The $1.7 billion dollar fund emerged in an unusual way – as a resolution to a lawsuit that Trump, his sons and his businesses brought against the IRS over leaked tax returns. In exchange for dropping the $10 billion lawsuit, the DOJ would create a settlement.
That would allow people who believe they were unfairly targeted by the Justice Department under the Biden administration to obtain compensation. A commission of five, appointed by the attorney general, would have the power to choose who is paid and how much they get.
