New Lawsuits Challenge Trump’s $1.8 Billion Anti-Weaponization Fund Created by DOJ

The U.S. Department of Justice created a controversial $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” as part of a settlement of a $10 billion lawsuit by President Donald Trump against the Internal Revenue Service, and two new lawsuits challenging it were filed Friday in federal courts in Washington, D.C. and Virginia.

“Who's eligible for the 'Anti-Weaponisation Fund'”

BBC

One civil complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia alleges, "Created following a collusive agreement between the President and his own administration, this Fund has no congressional authorization, no basis in law, and no accountability," while another suit says the fund violates the federal Administrative Procedure Act and the Freedom of Information Act.

BBC

The CNBC report says Trump got no money in the settlement, but the fund is intended to compensate many of his supporters who allege they were victims of prosecutorial overreach by the DOJ under the Biden administration.

Among the plaintiffs named by CNBC is Andrew Floyd, a former federal prosecutor who said he was fired last year for his work prosecuting cases against Trump supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

CNBC also says the other complaint was filed in D.C. federal court by the advocacy group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, known as CREW, and that the suits come two days after two police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 filed a suit to block the fund.

The Independent reports that the DOJ said “Tens of millions of Americans” who were allegedly targeted for “improper and unlawful” reasons may qualify for payouts from the $1.8 billion fund, which it describes as part of a settlement resolving Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over leaked tax returns.

The Independent quotes the DOJ memo’s broad framing, saying it is about "literally tens of millions of Americans were subjected to improper and unlawful government targeting" and that “there is no partisan restriction; Democrats can submit claims, too.”

CNBC

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told CNN, according to The Independent, that a record of violent behavior will be taken into consideration, but added, "Just to be clear, people that hurt police get money all the time."

The Independent also reports that the money—$1,776,000,000—will be taken from the judgment fund and that a five-member panel will develop application guidelines and review claims on a case-by-case basis, with no commissioners appointed so far.

In response to the plan, Senator Mitch McConnell said, "So the nation’s top law-enforcement official is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops? Utterly stupid, morally wrong — take your pick," as Democrats pledged to fight it in courts and legislation.

As the political fallout continues, the BBC reports that Trump critics Michael Cohen and former FBI director James Comey floated applying for the Anti-Weaponisation Fund after Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the $1.8bn fund.

““Tens of millions of Americans” who were allegedly targeted by the government for “improper and unlawful” reasons may qualify for payouts from President Donald Trump’s new $1”

The Independent

Cohen posted on X that, "After years of being smeared, surveilled, financially exposed, imprisoned, and silenced, I will file a claim asking whether America's justice system became America's political weapon," while the BBC says Comey told CNN, "It appears that they're serious," about compensating people targeted by the justice department for personal, political, or ideological reasons.

The BBC also says Comey added, "So I'm guessing, I'll be in line," and that he hoped he would be ahead of those who savagely beat police officers and sacked the Capitol.

The BBC reports that the fund will be overseen by five people appointed by the U.S. attorney general, according to Blanche’s memo to the Senate, and that the settlement agreement bars Trump or his family from receiving payouts.

It further notes that Blanche’s meeting with Senate Republicans on Thursday grew tense, and that Rep Brian Fitzpatrick sent a letter asking for specifics including whether "individuals convicted of federal crimes associated of acts of violence" would be eligible to receive payouts.