Trump’s $1.7 Billion Slush Fund

Let’s start with the one that should make your blood boil.

Trump sued the IRS for $10 billion earlier this year — over the leak of his tax returns. That was already wild. But here’s where it gets truly corrupt: he’s now reportedly close to settling that lawsuit. Not by dropping it. By getting paid.

The deal, first reported by ABC News, would have the government create a $1.7 billion “weaponization” fund — drawn from taxpayer money in the Treasury’s Judgment Fund — overseen by a commission Trump himself controls. He can fire its members at will. It doesn’t have to disclose how it decides who gets paid. And who’s eligible? Jan. 6 insurrectionists. Trump’s political allies. Potentially Trump’s own businesses.

Let me say that plainly: Trump sued a government agency he runs, negotiated a settlement with his own Justice Department, and is walking away with a $1.7 billion fund he controls, with no oversight, to pay his friends.

Sen. Ron Wyden called it “among the most corrupt acts in American political history.” Sen. Elizabeth Warren said it was “an insane level of corruption — even for Trump.” Rep. Jamie Raskin called it “a $1.7 billion fraud on the American taxpayer.”

They’re not wrong.

This is the president treating the federal government like a personal ATM. While you’re stretching your paycheck, he’s setting up a billion-dollar reward system for the people who stormed the Capitol on his behalf.

There are no “both sides” here. This is just corruption.

Trump-Xi Summit: A Lot of Talk, Not Much Else

Trump just wrapped a two-day summit in Beijing with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Both sides called it historic. Neither side could agree on what was actually decided.

Here’s what we know: Trump wanted to talk trade. Xi wanted to talk Taiwan. According to CNN, the summit ended without any substantive agreements announced on key issues. Xi’s government touted it as “historical” and said Xi will visit the U.S. in the fall. Trump said “a lot of different problems” were settled — without naming them.

On Taiwan, Trump said he’d like things to “stay the way they are” — which sounds reassuring until you read the full quote. When asked if Taiwan should feel more or less secure after the summit, Trump said: “Neutral.”

Neutral. That’s his answer about whether an ally should feel safe from a potential military invasion.

He also hinted he won’t approve a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan, saying he wasn’t looking to travel “9,500 miles to fight a war.” Meanwhile, Trump said he thinks China might move on Taiwan after he leaves office. So his peace plan is essentially: not my problem eventually.

This is what dealmaking looks like when you don’t actually know what you want — or when the other side does.

That’s your Morning Cup for Sunday. Two stories, one theme: a president who thinks the rules don’t apply to him — whether that’s a billion-dollar self-dealing scheme or leaving an ally twisting in the wind.

Stay loud. Share this if it helps someone make sense of the week.

— Sean Bartley, Cup of Culture

(Sources: ABC News, CNBC, The New Republic, CNN Politics)