Washington (United States) (AFP) – Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche on Tuesday defended the creation of a nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate political allies of President Donald Trump who believe they were unfairly prosecuted under the Biden administration.
Issued on: 20/05/2026 - 02:20
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Blanche, testifying before a Senate committee, came under repeated attack from Democrats who criticized the scheme as a corrupt "slush fund" to reward the Republican president's loyalists with taxpayer money."Let's be clear, what we're talking about is nothing short of the sitting president of the United States looting the Treasury for his own gain," said Senator Patty Murray of Washington state. "This is corruption that has never been more blatant."The Justice Department announced the creation of the so-called "Anti-Weaponization Fund" on Monday as part of a settlement in which Trump dropped a lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for a years-old leak of his tax returns.An addendum to the settlement released by Blanche on Tuesday bars the IRS from pursuing Trump, his family or companies for back tax claims.Blanche said Trump himself would not be eligible for compensation from the fund and he pushed back against accusations that money is "going to be only given to Republicans or friends of the president.""Whether you're Hunter Biden or whether you're another individual who believed they were a victim of weaponization, they can all apply to this fund," he said, in a reference to former president Joe Biden's son, who was convicted of gun and tax crimes while his father was in the White House.Blanche would not rule out that Trump supporters who were convicted of attacking police during the January 6, 2021, assault on the US Capitol would be eligible for payouts."Anybody in this country is eligible to apply if they believe they were a victim of weaponization," said Blanche, who is Trump's former personal attorney and who will appoint the five commissioners to oversee the fund.Trump issued a mass pardon to January 6 defendants on his first day in office last year.Blanche said the fund was needed to "compensate for what the Democrats and what Biden and what (former Biden attorney general Merrick) Garland did for four years."'President's consigliere'After leaving the White House in 2021, Trump was investigated and charged by special counsel Jack Smith over his attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to Biden -- which led to the January 6 insurrection -- and for allegedly mishandling classified documents.
