Gavin Newsom Moves To Strip Government Weaponization Victims Of Much-Needed Relief

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday he will impose a 100% tax to any payouts that residents receive from President Donald Trump’s $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund.

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The governor’s statement comes after Trump dismissed a $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and instead created the anti-weaponization fund to “hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare.” Some observers say Newsom’s proposition is an illegal bill of attainder, an act imposing a penalty or form of punishment that is imposed on specific groups or people without trial which Article 1, Section 9, Clause 3 of the Constitution explicitly forbids.

“Anyone from California that receives any of those funds we want to tax 100 percent of those proceeds,” Newsom told reporters during a press conference in his office, according to Politico. He also called Trump’s settlement a “slush fund.”

The lawsuit was originally filed by Trump against the IRS and the Treasury Department in a Miami Federal Court in January 2026. The suit was filed over alleged mishandling of protected information after tax records from Trump’s first presidency were leaked in 2019. (RELATED: Trump Drops $10 Billion IRS Lawsuit, DOJ Confirms Lawfare Compensation Fund)

U.S. President Donald Trump listens to members of his Cabinet speak during a meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House on May 27, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Charles Littlejohn, former IRS contractor, was sentenced to five years in prison in January 2024 after pleading guilty to releasing 15 years of Trump’s tax records to media outlets.

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Critics of the fund believe that it is designed to give money to Trump’s allies.

Democratic New York State Assemblyman Alex Bores also released legislation to tax 100% of the funds received from payouts. His fellow Democratic lawmakers are pushing for the legislation to be voted on in the coming days. Bores is currently running to replace retiring Democratic New York Rep. Jerry Nadler in Congress.

In New Jersey, a Democratic state lawmaker has said he is also working on a bill to tax 100% of the funds received from payouts, Politico reported.

Democratic New Jersey State Sen. Andrew Zwicker, said he believes the 100% tax is a “brilliant counter to Trump’s corruption,” in an interview with the outlet.

Trump defended the fund in a May 22 Truth Social post stating that it is to help people who have been “badly abused by an evil, corrupt, and weaponized Biden Administration.”

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