The Trump administration’s new investigation-compensation fund is drawing sharp criticism from members of the president’s own party who declined to pass government-funding legislation on Thursday due to disagreements over the fund.
The justice department created the $1.8bn (£1.3bn) fund to pay individuals “unfairly” investigated under previous presidents. Among the claimants are people charged in the 6 January 2021 riot at the US Capitol.
“So the nation’s top law enforcement official is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops? Utterly stupid, morally wrong – Take your pick,” Republican Senator Mitch McConnell said.
Democrats also have called it a “slush fund” for Trump allies.
The Department of Justice (DoJ) set up the fund as part of a settlement with President Donald Trump over a lawsuit he filed against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) after his tax records were disclosed. The president dropped the suit in exchange for an apology and the fund.
Congress can control how the DoJ spends taxpayer money, which would be used to fund the $1.8b settlement.
The top DoJ official, Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche, travelled to Capitol Hill on Thursday to try and ease Republican senators’ concerns, but was unsuccessful.
Some wanted to restrict how the fund could be used – and potentially do so in the government funding legislation being considered Thursday. Without a clear consensus, Senate Majority Leader John Thune cancelled the vote on that bill.
He told reporters afterward that administration officials “need to help with this issue, because we have a lot of members who are concerned, obviously, about the timing, but also about the substance”.
One of the chief concerns is about potential compensation for individuals who assaulted Capitol police officers on 6 January.
Nearly 1,600 people were charged with crimes associated with the riot, including about 175 charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer, according to DoJ figures.
Trump issued a blanket pardon for defandants involved in the riot on his first day back in office, including individuals who had pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers. Roughly 140 officers were injured.
North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis called the compensation fund “stupid on stilts”.
“It will invariably put us in a position where your taxpayer dollars and my taxpayer dollars could potentially compensate someone who assaulted a police officer, admitted their guilt, got convicted, got pardoned, and now we’re going to pay them for that? That’s absurd,” he said.
The fund is also unpopular in the House chamber, where it has drawn the ire of many, including Pennsylvania Republican Brian Fitzpatrick, who is planning to introduce legislation that would effectively kill the fund.
Until then, he has sent Blanche questions about plans for the fund.
Among those lining up to apply for compensation is Michael Caputo, a Trump ally and health official during the president’s first administration, who says the FBI investigated him when looking into possible coordination with Russia on interference in the 2016 election. He said he requested $2.7m from the fund earlier this week.
He wrote on social media that “The machinery of government was clearly politically weaponized against my family”. “They found nothing; we lost everything.”
Longtime critics of Trump are also exploring applying for funds.
Michael Cohen, the president’s former lawyer who spent time behind bars for lying to investigators, tax evasion and campaign finance violations, told US media he also plans to request money from the justice department initiative.
When DoJ officials announced the fund on Monday, they said it would have a total of $1.776bn available to settle and pay cases. They said the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” will be governed by a five-member commission that can vet and pay claims.
