Justice Department recently ended practice, but scope & specifics of the arrangements remain unclear
WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley is asking the Justice Department to provide details on a now-discontinued practice that funneled money from settlement agreements to pre-selected and politically active organizations. The Obama administration practice made certain settlement agreements contingent on the defendant’s agreement to pay a portion of the settlement to third party organizations that were not involved in the underlying legal matter. Those funds would have otherwise been deposited into the U.S. Treasury or paid to victims as restitution. Some third party organizations that received the settlement funds were previously and deliberately defunded by Congress.
Grassley recently praised the Justice Department’s decision to end such agreements, which were effectively circumventing Congress’ appropriations authority. In a letter this week to Attorney General Sessions, Grassley asked that the department respond to requests about such agreements that were left unanswered by the previous administration. He also asked that it provide a full breakdown of those agreements, including lists of third party organizations receiving the payments, the total amount of money required to be paid to the organizations, and the total amount to date that has been diverted away from the U.S. Treasury or accounts designated for victim restitution.
Full text of Grassley’s letter to Sessions
