Two police officers who defended the US Capitol from a pro-Trump mob on January 6, 2021, filed suit Wednesday to block those who took part in the violence from receiving payouts from a new fund totaling nearly $1.8 billion. The fund, destined for Trump allies claiming political prosecution, was created this week in exchange for President Donald Trump dropping his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS.
The $1.77 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund" is designed to compensate those who believe they were mistreated by the Justice Department under prior administrations. Decisions on payouts will be made by a five-member commission appointed by the attorney general, a Trump appointee.
As part of the deal that created the fund, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) also pledged not to pursue President Donald Trump, his family or the Trump Organisation for back taxes.
Trump and his sons, Eric and Donald Jr., as well as the Trump Organisation sued the IRS in January for leaking tax returns and sought $10 billion in damages.
Attorneys for the officers filed the federal lawsuit a day after Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the fund's creation during a congressional hearing.
Members of Congress questioned Blanche about the fund on Tuesday. He described it as “unusual” but not unprecedented.
Blanche also failed to acknowledge that it is Trump’s Justice Department that has made it a priority to investigate and prosecute the president’s perceived enemies, including twice targeting former FBI director James Comey, most recently over an Instagram post, as well as Senator Adam Schiff and New York Attorney General Letitia James, both for falsifying information on mortgage documents.
Trump will 'finance insurrectionists'
The lawsuit claims the “Anti-Weaponization Fund" is an illegal slush fund that Trump will use to “finance the insurrectionists and paramilitary groups that commit violence in his name”. It describes the fund's creation as "the most brazen act of presidential corruption this century" and calls for dissolving it.
“No statute authorizes its creation, the settlement on which it is premised is a corrupt sham, and its design violates the Constitution and federal law,” the suit says.
More than 100 police officers were injured during the Capitol riot. Nearly 1,600 people were charged with January 6-related crimes but Trump used his pardon powers to erase all of those cases in a sweeping act of clemency last year.
Blanche, a personal attorney for Trump before joining the Justice Department, wouldn't rule out the possibility that rioters who assaulted police on January 6 would be eligible for fund payouts.
The plaintiffs suing Trump over the fund are Metropolitan Police Department officer Daniel Hodges and former US Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, who is running in Maryland for a seat in Congress. Hodges and Dunn both testified before Congress about their harrowing experiences on January 6.
Videos captured a rioter ripping a mask off Hodges as he was pinned against a door during a fight for control of a tunnel entrance.
The officers claim the fund “encourages those who enacted violence in the president’s name to continue to do so”.
“Dunn and Hodges already face credible threats of death and violence on regular basis; the Fund substantially increases the danger,” the suit alleges.
Blanche and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also are named as defendants in the lawsuit.
(FRANCE 24 with AP)
