Source: Andrew Harnik / Getty
On Monday (May 18), Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that the Department of Justice (DOJ) created an “anti-weaponization” fund which will “have the power to issue formal apologies and monetary relief owed to claimants,” valued at $1.776 billion dollars.
The fund was created as part of a settlement of a lawsuit by President Donald Trump against the Internal Revenue Service from January, after a contractor allegedly leaked his information to the press. The fund will be run by five selected members, with Trump having power to remove any members. The DOJ fund would stop processing claims less than two months before Trump’s term ends, operating through December 15, 2028.
“The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this Department’s intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again,” Blanche said in a statement.
Though it was not expressed that there would be partisan considerations, the DOJ deal potentially could be tapped into by allies of Trump, including the rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Trump defended the fund committee’s power to distribute the monies. “I didn’t do this deal,” Trump said when questioned at another event Monday. “It was told to me yesterday.” He added: “This is helping people that were horribly treated,” referring to the J6 rioters, “these were people that were weaponized.”