Payouts from Trump's 'anti-weaponization' settlement fund temporarily blocked

Lawmakers lash out over Trump's 'anti-weaponization fund'

GOP leaders are lashing out over President Donald Trump’s $1.776 billion ‘anti-weaponization fund,’ created this week by the Department of Justice to provide compensation to individuals who claim they were targeted by politicized federal investigations. Meryl Kornfield from The Washington Post joins Mike Pache to discuss.

A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the Trump administration from paying claims through its new $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund.

The judge also barred the government from moving forward with the fund’s creation while litigation is pending to challenge it.

Dig deeper:

The "Anti-Weaponization Fund" was created by Trump’s administration to resolve the president’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns. 

The fund also created major backlash last week after it was announced by Attorney General Todd Blanche that violent rioters from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection could be free to seek compensation from the fund. 

The Justice Department hasn’t formed the five-member commission that will decide on payout criteria, so there has been no money paid out yet or claims accepted.

FILE - The US Flag flies above a sign marking the US Department of Justice (DOJ) headquarters building on Jan. 20, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Photo by J. David Ake/Getty Images)

The backstory:

During a congressional hearing, Blanche said the administration wouldn’t rule out the possibility that rioters who assaulted police on Jan. 6 could be eligible for fund payouts.

Nearly 1,600 people were charged with Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Over 1,200 were convicted and sentenced before Trump handed out mass pardons, commuted prison sentences and ordered the dismissal of every pending Jan. 6 criminal case last year.

The other side:

Two of the officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, are suing to prevent making payments to supporters of Trump accused of participating in the assault that day.

The new fund was described in the lawsuit as "the most brazen act of presidential corruption this century." The filing claims the president would use it to "finance the insurrectionists and paramilitary groups that commit violence in his name."