Committee member urges subpoenas over alleged $1.8 billion DOJ "slush fund," defends SPLC

A Committee member on the House Judiciary Committee accused the Justice Department of targeting the Southern Poverty Law Center and moved on the committee floor to subpoena senior DOJ, Treasury and IRS officials over an alleged $1.8 billion settlement fund, the member said during a hearing.

The member said the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for decades provided informant‑derived intelligence to the FBI that helped disrupt violent plots by the KKK and neo‑Nazi groups, and questioned why the DOJ is now prosecuting the organization. "Why is the Department of Justice under Trump and Todd Blanche now prosecuting the Southern Poverty Law Center?" the Committee member asked.

The lawmaker argued that DOJhas offered no evidence that donors were deceived and noted the absence of civil fraud suits as inconsistent with typical fraud cases. Drawing an analogy to the well‑publicized Trump University litigation, which produced thousands of plaintiffs and a multimillion‑dollar settlement, the Committee member said: "So far, to my knowledge, there's not a single donor to the Southern Poverty Law Center who's come forward to say that he or she was defrauded."

The member broadened the critique to the administration's handling of domestic extremism, saying federal attention has shifted away from right‑wing violent extremism and toward immigration enforcement, that the civil rights division has been weakened, and that prevention programs were defunded. He cited a nonpartisan data point to say right‑wing extremists have carried out more attacks and caused more deaths in recent years, and he criticized the administration's response to and pardons of some Jan. 6 defendants.

Turning to what he called a related "real fraud," the Committee member said President Trump withdrew a lawsuit against the IRS and that officials later announced a purported settlement. The member described an internal DOJ fund he characterized as a roughly $1.776 billion "anti‑weaponization fund" that he called a political "slush fund" and said it lacked congressional authorization. He urged the committee to seek testimony from those involved.

"So I move that they'd be subpoenaed, right now," the Committee member said, citing committee rules for subpoenas and naming Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche; Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward; a Treasury official, Scott Bessant; IRS CEO Frank Bisignano; and Treasury General Counsel Brian Morrissey. The member also stated the motion was seconded on the floor.

The Chair responded that the member had not been recognized for that purpose and said the committee would "hold any motion to subpoena in abeyance until the conclusion of today's hearing." No formal vote on the motion was recorded in the transcript.

What it means: The exchange underscores a Committee member's insistence on oversight of an announced DOJ/IRS‑related settlement and an effort to compel testimony from senior agency officials; the Chair deferred action pending the hearing's completion. The hearing continued after the interruption.

Next steps: The motion to subpoena was not decided on the record; the Chair said the committee would revisit the matter after the hearing concluded.