Two police officers who helped defend the U.S. Capitol from an attack by a mob of Trump supporters sued on Wednesday to block anyone ā including Jan. 6, 2021, rioters ā from receiving payouts from a new $1.776 billion settlement fund for people who claim to be victims of politically motivated prosecutions.
The officersā attorneys filed the federal lawsuit a day after Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the fundās creation during a congressional hearing. Blanche, a personal attorney for President Donald Trump before joining the Justice Department, wouldnāt rule out the possibility that rioters who assaulted police on Jan. 6 would be eligible for fund payouts.
The lawsuit claims the governmentās āAnti-Weaponization Fundā is an illegal slush fund that Trump will use to āfinance the insurrectionists and paramilitary groups that commit violence in his name.ā It describes the fundās creation as āthe most brazen act of presidential corruption this centuryā and calls for dissolving it.
āNo statute authorizes its creation, the settlement on which it is premised is a corrupt sham, and its design violates the Constitution and federal law,ā the suit says.
The fund stems from a settlement of Trumpās $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns. Itās designed to compensate those who believe they were mistreated by prior administrationsā Justice Department. Decisions on payouts will be made by a five-member commission appointed by the attorney general.


Loud and clear.