🔨 GAVEL DROP — Real Hearings. Real Analysis. No Fluff.

During a House Judiciary Committee hearing, Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (D-MD) invoked a rarely-used House rule to demand immediate subpoenas of five Trump administration officials over an alleged $1.776 billion "slush fund" created without congressional authorization.

⚖️ THE MOTION:

RASKIN: "Pursuant to clause 2K6 of rule 11, I move that the committee now immediately subpoena those involved in the creation or execution of the nearly $1.8 billion slush fund."

**OFFICIALS NAMED FOR SUBPOENA:**
1. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche
2. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward
3. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
4. IRS Chief Executive Officer Frank Bizignano
5. Treasury Department General Counsel Brian Morrissey (resigned)

📋 THE ALLEGED SCHEME:

According to Raskin:

🔴 **THE LAWSUIT:**
- Trump sued the IRS for $10 million
- Federal judge questioned whether there was even a case
- Trump withdrew the lawsuit

🔴 **THE "SETTLEMENT":**
Despite withdrawal, Trump claimed a settlement that:
- Creates a $1.776 billion fund called the "anti-weaponization fund"
- Grants Trump, his family, and businesses immunity from tax fraud prosecution "forever"
- Will be used to pay January 6th defendants
- Was not authorized by Congress

🔴 **THE CONSTITUTIONAL CLAIM:**

RASKIN: "We never set up this political slush fund to be run out of the DOJ, and we never would... That's the power of the purse, which belongs exclusively to Congress."

**14TH AMENDMENT, SECTION 4:**
"The United States shall not assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States. All such debts, obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and void."

Raskin argues any payments to January 6th participants violate this provision.

⚠️ THE RESIGNATION:

Brian Morrissey, Treasury Department General Counsel (top lawyer), resigned the same day the settlement was announced.

The New York Times reported that career IRS lawyers believed Trump's lawsuit was "deeply flawed" and drafted a memo recommending dismissal. Instead, DOJ settled for $1.8 billion.

🚨 THE ANDREW PAUL JOHNSON CASE:

Raskin cited a documented example of a pardoned January 6th defendant:

- Trump pardoned Andrew Paul Johnson
- Johnson subsequently sexually assaulted two 12-year-old children
- He's now in prison for life
- Court records show Johnson told his victims he expected to be "awarded $10 million" for storming the Capitol

RASKIN: "Trump's stupid, blundering decision-making forever altered the lives of those children."

📊 THE CONTEXT:

Raskin spent 15 minutes documenting what he characterized as Trump's relationship with violent extremism:

**CHARLOTTESVILLE (2017):**
After a neo-Nazi rally where Heather Heyer was killed, Trump said there were "very fine people on both sides."

**PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE (2020):**
Asked to condemn white supremacists, Trump told the Proud Boys to "stand back and stand by"—which they adopted as their official motto.

**JANUARY 6TH (2021):**
- Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and 3%ers led the assault
- More than 150 police officers wounded
- Trump pardoned 1,500+ defendants on his first day in office
- Included those convicted of seditious conspiracy

**POLICY CHANGES:**
- Dismantled anti-domestic terror infrastructure at FBI
- Gutted Civil Rights Division
- Defunded terror prevention programs
- New counter-terror strategy erases right-wing extremism from the record

🏛️ THE HOUSE RULE:

Rule 11, clause 2(k)(6) allows committee members to force immediate votes on subpoenas during hearings.

Rarely used because it requires the majority to vote publicly and immediately. Republicans control the committee, so the subpoenas will likely fail—but Raskin got them on record.

⚠️ THE SPLC PROSECUTION:

The hearing was ostensibly about the Southern Poverty Law Center, which DOJ is prosecuting for fraud.

RASKIN'S ARGUMENT:
- SPLC used informants to infiltrate KKK and neo-Nazi groups for decades
- FBI welcomed this intelligence
- No donors have sued SPLC for fraud
- No victims have come forward
- Compare to Trump University: 8,000 victims, 3 lawsuits, $25 million settlement

"The real fraud is coming from the White House."

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👍 LIKE if Congress should investigate funds they didn't authorize
🔔 SUBSCRIBE for congressional oversight without spin
💬 COMMENT: Should these 5 officials be subpoenaed? YES or NO?
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⚠️ DISCLAIMER:
This video provides political analysis and commentary based on publicly available congressional hearing footage. All content is used under Fair Use (17 U.S.C. § 107) for purposes of criticism, comment, and news reporting.

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