A Justice Department probe examining whether some of the nation’s biggest banks closed accounts of defendants charged in the 2021 Capitol riot and others for political reasons had been raised to the Trump administration as a way to support it’s efforts to compensate people the president claims were victims of weaponization, according to people briefed on the matter.
Some of the president’s allies in recent months have suggested to administration officials that any possible settlements from the debanking probe could be used to compensate Trump supporters who the president believes suffered financial harm because of their involvement in the January 6 attack, the people familiar with the matter said.
The idea was among other funding mechanisms discussed, according to people familiar with the matter.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche earlier this month backed off plans to set up a nearly $1.8 billion fund as part of an agreement under which President Donald Trump withdrew a lawsuit against the IRS over a 2019 leak of his tax records. Despite bipartisan backlash against the fund — which was initially supposed to be backed by the US Treasury — Trump has said he hasn’t abandoned the idea of finding a way to compensate his supporters who he claims were unfairly targeted by the government.
