Democrats slam Todd Branch over new crime victims fund in Senate
Democrats questioned Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche about a new $1.77 billion fund to help victims of “law and use of arms.”
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is pursuing an investigation into the Justice Department’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund as Senate Republicans revolt over large sums of money that could collect payments to the president’s allies, including the January 6 defendants.
Trump claimed in a May 22 Truth Social post that he “gave up a lot of money to allow the just-announced anti-weaponization fund to go forward,” adding that he could have settled his family’s now-dropped lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service with “an absolute fortune.”
“Instead, I am helping those who have been horribly abused by the evil, corrupt, and weaponized Biden administration finally receive justice!” Trump said.
The president’s comments came after Senate Republicans left Washington for a week of recess, furious over the fund, which faced questions about its legality and raised political concerns among Republicans about its creation as Americans suffer from high costs.
In another Truth social post, President Trump slammed one of his most critical Republican senators, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Trump criticized Tillis, who is a frequent target of the president and is not running for re-election in November, as “weak and ineffective.”
Tillis told CNN that the defendants in the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack who were pardoned by President Trump “don’t need to pay restitution. Many of them deserve to go to prison.”
He called on other like-minded Senate Republicans to “speak out” about the fund. “This is beyond common sense,” Tillis said. “This is not good for my colleagues. There is nothing positive that will come out of this between now and November. This is bad policy. This is bad timing. This is bad politics.”
Republican opposition led Senate Republicans to walk out and adjourn over Memorial Day weekend without passing a reconciliation bill that would strengthen immigration enforcement, but they certainly fell short of President Trump’s goal of passing the bill by June 1.
“It’s clear that our members have very legitimate questions,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota), acknowledging that Republican senators want to “ensure that the Justice Department’s funds are appropriately ring-fenced.”
“It’s completely stupid and morally wrong,” McConnell said.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced on May 18 the creation of an “anti-weaponization” fund as part of a settlement agreement in a lawsuit brought by President Trump and his family against the IRS seeking $10 billion in damages over the leak of the president’s tax returns.
The Trump family agreed to voluntarily drop the lawsuit in exchange for the creation of the fund. That means a federal judge won’t rule on the merits of the claim.
The fund has few guardrails. A five-member committee, each appointed by Mr. Blanche, will be responsible for deciding which claimants will receive awards from the fund, the Justice Department said.
Blanche said anyone is welcome to apply for compensation, but the fund was created to pay compensation to individuals who Trump and others say were unfairly targeted by prosecutors under past Democratic administrations. Blanche and other administration officials have not ruled out the possibility that checks could be sent to the roughly 1,600 Trump supporters who violently stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, including some convicted of assaulting police officers.
“So the highest law enforcement official in this country is asking for slush funds to pay people who assault police officers?” Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the former Senate Republican leader, said in a statement. “It’s completely stupid and morally wrong. Make your own choices.”
Amid the turmoil in the Senate, the anti-weaponization fund is also facing bipartisan resistance in the House. Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pennsylvania) and Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi (New York) have introduced legislation that would prohibit federal funds from being put into the fund.
Contributor: Zach Schermele for USA TODAY
X Contact Joey Garrison at @Joeygarrison.
