A top Treasury Department lawyer resigned hours after the creation of a $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization fund" that will be used to pay off President Donald Trump's political allies.
Brian Morrissey, the Treasury’s general counsel, stepped down Monday only seven months after he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate and just hours after the Trump administration announced the fund, reported the New York Times.
“Mr. Morrissey has served the United States Treasury with both honor and integrity," a department spokesman said. "We wish him all the best in his next endeavors.”
Morrissey did not respond to requests for comment, but he said in his resignation letter that he was grateful to have worked for Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, according to two sources familiar with the letter.
He previously served during Trump's first term at the agency and at the Justice Department, and he is also a former clerk for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
The Justice Department established the fund, which will be deposited by the Treasury Department into an account that will be controlled by five individuals selected by acting attorney general Todd Blanche, and they will disburse payments to Trump allies who claim the Biden administration politically targeted them.
The anti-weaponization fund was created as part of the settlement of a lawsuit Trump filed against the IRS, accusing it of failing to prevent unauthorized disclosure of his tax information during his first term.
Trump dropped the suit Monday after a judge questioned whether he could legally sue a government agency under his control.
"Even Trump appointees know how disgustingly corrupt this is, and it still has not received 10 percent of the coverage and attention it deserves as media moves on to other things," noted Ron Filipkowski, editor in chief of MeidasTouch.