When a president settles his own lawsuit to create a fund for allies, fundamental questions about justice arise

Donald Trump’s suit against the IRS and the settlement creating a $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund to compensate his allies raise important moral and constitutional issues.

By: Austin Sarat, Amherst College, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: May 20, 2026

Words: 1,450

Last Updated: 2 months ago

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By Austin Sarat, Amherst College

Thomas Hobbes took a very dim view of rebels and insurrectionists. He believed that insurrectionists relinquish their status as citizens the moment they seek to overthrow the government and should never be rewarded for doing so.

Hobbes, one of the finest political theorists of his time, said this in his great political treatise, “Leviathan,” published in 1651 during a civil war in England and Scotland.

Hobbes would …

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