Attorney General Jeff Sessions has ordered U.S. attorneys to probe $6 billion in lawsuit settlement funds that the Obama administration earmarked for progressive causes.
The July 28 memo, which was obtained Friday by Breitbart News, called for a review of 10 years worth of legal payouts made under former Obama attorneys general Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch.
Their practice, according to the New York Post, was to build in donations to controversial progressive groups like illegal immigration advocates, UnidosUS, as part of settlements in certain federal lawsuits.
Republicans have called for an investigation into that funding since 2015, saying that since those groups were not parties in the lawsuits, the money should have all reverted back to the U.S. Treasury.
Third-party donations in federal settlements have been a practice in D.C. since the 1970s, but Republicans allege the Obama Administration used them to bypass the House.
This article was featured in the InsideHook newsletter. Sign up now.