Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said Tuesday that he is “not a fan” of the Justice Department’s newly announced “anti-weaponization” fund, the latest sign of GOP discomfort over a pool of money that critics are calling a “slush fund” for President Donald Trump’s political allies.
In rolling out the fund on Monday, the Justice Department stated there are no “partisan requirements” to be awarded some of the $1.776 billion set aside for victims of “weaponization and lawfare.” But Democrats have accused the DOJ of attempting to protect those in Trump’s orbit who have been prosecuted by the federal government. The funds could also extend to the hundreds of Jan. 6 defendants convicted and subsequently pardoned by Trump for their actions in the Capitol riot.
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“I’m not sure exactly how they intend to use it,” Thune told reporters on Tuesday, “but yeah, I don’t see a purpose for that.”
The way the Justice Department is tapping the funds, from an unlimited account Congress has long set aside to settle claims against the federal government, has also drawn scrutiny. Thune told reporters that he expects the arrangement will get a “full vetting” from appropriators later this year.
“My assumption is that based on some of the blowback that’s come since this was announced, that there would be a significant amount of attention paid to it,” Thune said.
The “anti-weaponization” fund is part of a settlement over the IRS’s handling of the Trump family’s tax returns. The president and his children dropped their demand for $10 billion in damages related to the leak, “in exchange for” the fund.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), a lame duck senator whose falling-out with the president contributed to his primary loss on Saturday, criticized the $1.8 billion fund as lacking “legal precedent” and told reporters Monday that Congress should be the one to “make the law.”
“We are a nation of laws,” Cassidy said. “You can’t just make up things whole piece.”
The optics of Trump initiating a lawsuit that was resolved by an agency he controls have added to that discomfort. The president, who was investigated under the Biden administration for his conduct surrounding the 2020 election and handling of classified documents, will not personally receive a payout from the fund, the Justice Department said.
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Other Republicans have given Trump leeway with the settlement fund, viewing its creation as addressing a long-standing problem of political prosecutions.
“I’m open to the concept,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Does the federal government abuse people sometimes? Yeah, and those people should have recourse.”
