Secret Podcast: Trump's $1.7b Friends and Family Fund
5/15/202637 min
The Secret Podcast is available exclusively to paid subscribers of The Bulwark. You can join on Apple Podcasts, Substack or YouTube!
Last night news broke that President Trump would drop his $10b lawsuit against the IRS if the people who work for him at the Justice Department would create a $1.7b fund out of taxpayer dollars and allow him to appoint five commissioners to run this fund and they would award money to anyone they deemed fit.
Oh, and that the list of people given money would be secret. And Trump could replace the commissioners...
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJVL· Host0:00
Hello, everyone. This is JVL here with my best friend, Sarah Longwell, publisher of The Bulwark, coming to you live, not quite zero dark 30, but earlier than normal.
Sarah Longwell· Host0:11
So early.
JVL· Host0:12
Uh, we have to talk about an amazing development since, since Wednesday. So on Wednesday we sat and we talked about Donald Trump's $10 b- b- billion lawsuit, which was nearing settlement with the IRS.
Sarah Longwell· Host0:28
You mean in person when I was putting my hands on you?
JVL· Host0:31
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Sarah Longwell· Host0:31
Do you know how many people were shocked by, A, how tall you are, and B, what you look like in a button-down shirt?
JVL· Host0:37
I mean, I understand the first, or the second part, not the first part. I've always been this, this tall. I do not often wear button-down shirts.
Sarah Longwell· Host0:45
I do think I got done dirty by the angle, 'cause I've... Did you watch it? I just, like, looked at the setup.
JVL· Host0:50
No.
Sarah Longwell· Host0:50
But I look like a tiny little pocket person in the corner, while you and Tim look like these giant trees.
JVL· Host0:55
Uh, yeah. Yeah, having you in the middle, I did, I did think, 'cause I, I only saw a still from it, and I thought, "Do we have to raise her, her seat up or put some, some phone books-" I do need to sit on some phone books- "... underneath her, her to sit-" Okay ...
Sarah Longwell· Host1:07
because otherwise I look, uh, like I sit in the land of giants. You are both tall guys, and I am not a tall person, but I... It's not that bad.
JVL· Host1:16
Tall and pocket. It's kind of that bad. [laughs] You're, you're much, much shorter than we are. Um, all right, I just want to catch people up here. On... We all knew that Trump had filed a $10 billion lawsuit