Trump's Fund Faces Senate Pushback After Court Halt

(MENAFN- IANS) Washington, June 2 (IANS) The Justice Department on Monday said it would comply with a federal court order freezing President Donald Trump's Anti-Weaponization Fund despite "strongly" disagreeing with the ruling, while Senate Democrats launched a legislative effort to permanently block the controversial $1.8 billion programme.

In a statement posted on X, the Department of Justice said the Anti-Weaponization Fund had been created "to make up for the tremendous abuse, harm, and hate unfairly shown to so many people" and was open to anyone "who was so weaponized, targeted, or persecuted, whether they were Democrat, Republican, Conservative, Independent, or otherwise."

"The Department of Justice disagrees strongly with the decision on the Anti-Weaponization Fund put forth by the United States District Court Judge in the Eastern District of Virginia," the department said. It added: "The Department will abide by the Court's ruling."

The statement came after US District Judge Leonie Brinkema temporarily barred the administration from taking any further action related to the fund while a legal challenge proceeds. The court ordered the government not to transfer money to the fund, consider claims or disburse payments pending a June 12 hearing.

Against that backdrop, Senators Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, Adam Schiff of California and Mark Kelly of Arizona introduced the Drain the Slush Fund Act, legislation aimed at dismantling the fund and prohibiting taxpayer money from being used for payments to the President, his associates, convicted criminals or individuals involved in the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack.

"From his ballroom to his son's cryptocurrency, to insider stock trading and selling pardons to the highest bidder - President Trump has used the federal government as a piggybank for himself and his allies," Slotkin said.

"This so-called $1.7 billion anti-weaponization fund is an unprecedented misuse of taxpayer money, and it must be stopped," she added.

Schiff called the initiative "one of the most brazenly corrupt schemes we've ever seen from a U.S. President."

"As Senators who have actually seen their government weaponized against them, we want to make it clear: we will not allow a single payout from this so-called weaponization fund to be paid," he said.

Kelly accused the administration of using public money to benefit political allies.

"Americans are struggling to make ends meet and Trump wants to use taxpayer money to pay off his friends and allies," Kelly said. "The president's slush fund is a $1.7 billion theft in broad daylight to benefit people like the criminals who attacked Capitol police officers on January 6th."

The legislation, among other things, proposes to impose new restrictions on the Justice Department's Settlement Fund by prohibiting settlements or payments arising from claims or lawsuits brought by a sitting President or Vice President.

The fund has drawn mounting criticism on Capitol Hill. Earlier on Monday, Senator Alex Padilla and other Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee called on the Justice Department's Inspector General to launch an immediate investigation into what they described as a "slush fund" representing "waste, fraud, and abuse of an unprecedented magnitude."

In their letter, the senators argued that "these tax dollars are set to go to whomever President Trump pleases" and expressed concern about the fund's structure, oversight and eligibility requirements.

The controversy stems from a Justice Department settlement announced last month in connection with Trump's lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. The administration said the fund was intended to compensate people who had been unfairly targeted or persecuted by government actions. Critics, including Democrats and some Republicans, questioned whether the programme could benefit Trump's political supporters, including individuals convicted in connection with the January 6 Capitol riot.

The legal battle is expected to continue in federal court later this month.

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