The DOJ has been ordered to identify those behind the now-defunct initiative that critics say was aimed at helping prosecuted Jan. 6 rioters
A federal magistrate judge has ordered the administration of US President Donald Trump to disclose the names of those who devised a now-defunct fund for victims of politically-motivated prosecution. The lawsuit was filed by multiple plaintiffs, backed by a Soros-funded NGO.
Critics have argued that the $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund was designed to funnel taxpayer money to Trump’s supporters who claim they were unfairly investigated by the Justice Department, including those prosecuted over the Capitol Hill riots on January 6, 2021.
On Friday, Judge Ivan D. Davis granted a request that the identities of the masterminds behind the fund be revealed to the plaintiffs and their attorneys, noting that this information must not be made public at this stage.
The DOJ has insisted that the names of those people are “irrelevant” to the case and, moreover, constitute confidential attorney-client discussions or government officials’ deliberations. The Department has also filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit altogether.
Among the plaintiffs who challenged the creation of the initiative are a former federal prosecutor who was fired by the Trump administration after working on cases related to the Capitol Hill riots.
Providing legal support for the lawsuit is the Democracy Forward Foundation – a nonprofit organization that professes to advance “democracy and social progress through litigation, policy and public education, and regulatory engagement.” In May, it was named among the recipients of a five-year $300 million grant from billionaire George Soros’s Open Society Foundations (OSF), according to Inside Philanthropy.
The DOJ announced the creation of the fund in May as a part of a settlement agreement between Trump and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Under it, Trump and several members of his family, along with the Trump Organization, agreed to drop their lawsuit over a leak of their tax returns. In exchange, the Anti-Weaponization Fund was to be established to provide redress to “victims of lawfare and weaponization.”
“The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this Department’s intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said at the time.
The Trump administration argued that there was a legal precedent for such an initiative, citing a $760 million fund created under former President Barack Obama to redress racism-related claims against the federal government.
However, faced with criticisms from both Democratic and Republican members of Congress, Blanche declared the fund “dead” in August.
