WASHINGTON (AP) — A coalition of President Donald Trump’s critics, including a fired prosecutor and a college professor acquitted of assaulting federal agents at a protest, sued Friday to block payouts from a new $1.776 billion settlement fund for Trump allies claiming to be victims of a weaponized government.The lawsuit adds fuel to a mounting backlash against the Trump administration’s creation of an “Anti-Weaponization Fund” to resolve the Republican president’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns.Plaintiffs’ attorneys from the legal advocacy group Democracy Forward are seeking a court order halting the fund’s implementation and preventing the Trump administration from disbursing any payouts from it.
Two police officers who helped defend the U.S. Capitol from a mob’s attack on Jan. 6, 2021, also sued this week to prevent anyone, including Capitol rioters, from receiving payments from the settlement fund.During a congressional hearing Tuesday, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche wouldn’t rule out the possibility that rioters who assaulted police on Jan. 6 could be eligible for fund payouts.
