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 – The Trump administration said it intends to withdraw from a heavily criticized $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund aimed at compensating Americans who it says were wrongly prosecuted during the Biden and Obama presidencies.
The Department of Justice announced on June 1 that it would suspend work on creating the fund after a federal judge temporarily blocked its creation.
The project, denounced by critics as a “slush fund” for allies of President Donald Trump, faced bipartisan opposition in Congress and became an obstacle for Republican leaders to pass legislation aimed at toughening immigration enforcement.
On May 29, a federal judge in Virginia temporarily ordered the Trump administration to take no further action regarding the creation or administration of the fund, including transferring federal funds or reviewing claims. A court hearing in a lawsuit brought by opponents, including prosecutors who heard cases against those who stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, is scheduled for June 12.
The Justice Department said in a statement that it disagreed with the order but “will abide by the court’s ruling.”
The move comes after House Speaker Mike Johnson discussed the fund with President Trump during a nearly three-hour meeting at the White House on June 1, according to people familiar with the matter. The person, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Justice Department issued a statement as a result of the meeting between Mr. Johnson and Mr. Trump.
Axios, citing two senior administration officials, reported that President Trump plans to completely eliminate the anti-disarmament fund. Bloomberg reported that he said senior government positions would also be abolished.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment from USA TODAY. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it would continue fighting in court to implement the fund or permanently halt its efforts.
IRS lawsuit settlement increases anti-weaponization fund
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the fund on May 18 as part of a settlement agreement in a lawsuit filed by 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.
Critics were alarmed that the fund could be used to funnel money to a defendant who was convicted on Jan. 6 of assaulting a police officer. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters on June 1 that the Trump administration should be “shut down.”
“Our public pressure and legal action is working,” watchdog group Common Cause, one of the plaintiffs in the Virginia case, said in a statement about the White House’s apparent backtracking. “While we are encouraged that the Trump administration appears to be moving away from corrupt slush funds, we will not stop litigating until the Justice Department clearly formalizes this decision in writing and is confident that the threat of stolen tax dollars is truly over.”
The anti-weaponization fund outlined by the Justice Department has few guardrails. A five-person committee, each member of which was appointed by Blanche, was to be responsible for deciding which claimants would be rewarded.
Blanche and other administration officials did not rule out the possibility that checks could be sent to the roughly 1,600 Trump supporters who were convicted and later pardoned for their role in the Jan. 6 attack.
Amid bipartisan backlash, President Trump publicly defended the fund as recently as May 22, writing on Truth Social that it would provide “justice” to those “who have been horribly abused by the evil, corrupt, and weaponized Biden administration.”
X Contact Joey Garrison at @joeygarrison.
