WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump 's allies who believe they were wrongly prosecuted by the Biden administration could soon have access to a $1.7 billion dollar compensation fund, the Justice Department announced Monday, in a move slammed by Democrats as unconstitutional and corrupt.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement that the fund — dubbed the “Anti-Weaponization Fund" — will represent “a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress.” Blanche's statement made no mention of how investigations and prosecutions of Trump’s political opponents under his watch have exposed the Justice Department to the same claims of politicized law enforcement that he said he opposed.
The fund was announced as part of a deal to resolve Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns.
The fund is in keeping with Trump's long-running claims that the Justice Department during the Biden administration was weaponized against him, even though then-President Joe Biden himself was scrutinized during that time. The fund would represent not only a highly unorthodox resolution but also a further demonstration of the Trump administration’s eagerness to reward allies who were investigated and in some cases charged and convicted before Trump came to power.
Monday afternoon at the White House, Trump told reporters the fund is dedicated to “reimbursing people who were horribly treated.”
Democratic lawmakers, who are teeing up a legal challenge to the move, argue that it will become a taxpayer-funded “slush fund” for Trump allies and supporters who claim political persecution. They also question whether the president should be able to direct money for the fund without explicit congressional approval.
Here's what to know about the fund:
Justice Department casts fund as redress for political targeting
The fund was announced after Trump and his sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., and the Trump Organization agreed to drop their lawsuit against the IRS and the Treasury Department. The lawsuit alleged that a leak of confidential tax records caused them reputational and financial harm and negatively affected their public standing, among other allegations.
According to the Justice Department announcement, the fund is meant to provide a formal process for people or entities who say they were unfairly targeted by the government for political, ideological or personal reasons.
Source: WPLG
