Trump administration won’t pursue $1.8B “Anti-Weaponization Fund," Acting AG says
DOJ plans to drop $1.8B 'anti-weaponization fund'
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that the Department of Justice is abandoning plans for the $1.776B "Anti-Weaponization Fund" during a House Appropriations hearing. "We are not moving forward with the fund, period," Blanche told the House committee.
The proposed $1.8 billion fund designed to compensate allies of President Donald Trump who claimed they were prosecuted for political reasons is officially dead, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told lawmakers on Tuesday.
What they're saying:
"We are not moving forward with the fund, period," Blanche said during a House committee meeting as he sought to reassure Republicans that the Justice Department would not continue pursuing its "Anti-Weaponization Fund."
Big picture view:
Blanche’s comments came a day after the Department of Justice released a statement that said the agency would follow a federal judge’s recent order that halted the creation of the fund and blocked any payouts from it.
Dig deeper:
His statement to Congress went further than the one from the agency he leads. In Monday’s post, the Justice Department only stated that it would abide by the ruling. It did not indicate if the agency would appeal the decision or pursue other routes to still build the fund.
House Republicans had pushed Blanche to confirm that the fund was off the table during a hearing about funding the nation’s immigration agencies.
Demonstrators attempt to enter the U.S. Capitol building during a protest in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. (Photographer: Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The backstory:
The fund was created as part of a settlement between Trump and the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns. The plan faced immediate pushback on both sides of the aisle, especially after Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche indicated that people tied to the January 6, 2021, riot in the U.S. Capitol would be able to seek compensation.
Two of the officers who defended the Capitol on that day sued to prevent the government from making payments to Trump supporters accused of participating in the attacks.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from The Associated Press. This story was reported from Orlando.