A federal judge temporarily blocked on Friday President Donald Trump’s initiative to create a $1.776 billion fund to compensate people who claim to have been the subject of “instrumentalization” by the federal government during the Joe Biden administration.
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Included in that fund would be those who participated and were convicted for the January 6, 2021 Capitol assault, who responded to Trump’s call, the loser of the November 2020 elections, to subvert the ballot decision and facilitate the then U.S. president’s continuation in power.
The establishment of these compensations under the concept of a fund against instrumentalization arose as the result of an unprecedented agreement. The pact meant that the president withdrew his $10 billion lawsuit against the U.S. Treasury (IRS), which he accused of leaking his tax returns, in exchange for obtaining tax immunity for himself, his company, and his family, as well as setting those compensations from which his political associates are expected to benefit.
Eastern Virginia federal district judge Leonie Brinkema explained that her restraining order aimed to ensure that funds are not “irreversibly disbursed” before the legal battle over the recently announced fund has the opportunity to unfold.
Outrage among Republicans and Democrats in Congress
The order came in response to a complaint filed by a group of plaintiffs including the National Abortion Federation, Common Cause, and a former federal prosecutor who led a task force to prosecute people allegedly involved in that Capitol siege.
The possible fund has sparked intense bipartisan outrage in Congress, where lawmakers from both parties have described it as a discretionary fund intended for payments to President Trump’s allies, potentially including people who participated in that January 2021 coup attempt.
Democratic lawmakers threatened to tax the full amount of any payment made from the fund. Brinkema’s order, appointed by President Bill Clinton, suspends the creation of the fund at least until June 12, when she has scheduled a hearing to continue considering the matter.
Its existence also alarmed legal experts, partly because there will be very little public oversight on how those compensations are managed. Senate Republican leaders postponed last week a vote on a Republican Party package to fund immigration agents (ICE) and the Border Patrol until June, partly due to concerns about the fund.
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Another Trump measure halted by the courts
The Trump administration cannot take any other action related to the fund while legal motions are pending, “which includes transferring money to the fund; considering any claims submitted to the fund; and disbursing any money from the fund,” according to the judge’s order.
The process to apply for compensations cannot officially begin until five commissioners are chosen to decide how the money is distributed, although people claiming to have been subject to government actions have already applied for compensations.
The White House directed those requests to the Department of Justice (DOJ). It is also unclear how people would formally submit their applications. The group of potential applicants is considerably large, the DOJ pointed out.
“The Trump administration is granting access to those I helped investigate and prosecute after January 6 to what is an illegally created process, designed to quickly deliver money to political allies, while treating me and people like me as disfavored enemies,” said Andrew Floyd, one of the prosecutors from the task force in charge of investigating the attack on the citadel of democracy before being fired last July, in this lawsuit.
In his statement, he described the dismissal of numerous officials who collaborated on that case as appalling and indicated that no president should be able to abuse their authority to persecute those doing their job.
“That the president attacks me and others involved in the prosecutions related to January 6 leaves our country in a very dark place, sending the message that insurrection and sedition will be protected, and even encouraged, as long as they are done in the name of this administration,” he emphasized in his statement submitted on Thursday.
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