Raskin: Possible Trump-IRS Settlement ‘Unconstitutional’

Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said the proposed Trump-IRS settlement was “unconstitutional.”

Partial transcript as follows:

STEPHANOPOULOS: You’ve called this proposed settlement a fraud. Is it illegal? And are you confident the courts will block it?

RASKIN: Yes. Well, let’s start with this, George, only Congress has the power to appropriate money. And Congress never voted on creating this $1.7 billion political slush fund at the Department of Justice. And Congress would never pass that. There’s no way he could get that through Congress. So, this is just an invention on his part. But even if Congress wanted to do it, I think it’s clearly unconstitutional on a number of grounds. To begin with, if you look at Section Four of the 14th Amendment, it says that no money can be spent by the federal government for the purposes of paying for insurrection or rebellion. So, to