By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
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, to block payouts from a new $1.776 billion settlement fund for Trump allies claiming to be victims of a weaponized government.
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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.
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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.
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