Two Washington, DC police officers have filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump's administration over its decision to establish a $1.776 billion fund to compensate victims of alleged government "weaponisation."
In their lawsuit filed Wednesday, officers Harry Dunn and Daniel Hodges call the fund "the most brazen act of presidential corruption this century." They seek to dissolve the fund to prevent taxpayer money from being disbursed to participants in the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.
On that day, thousands of Trump supporters stormed Congress in an apparent effort to prevent certification of the 2020 presidential election, which Trump lost. The lawsuit argues the fund "will directly finance the violent operations of rioters, paramilitaries, and their supporters who threatened Plaintiffs' lives."
Both Dunn and Hodges say they were injured during the attack. Dunn, a former US Capitol Police officer, has since retired. Hodges, who remains with the Metropolitan Police Department, recalled being "nearly crushed by rioters" against a Capitol door.
The lawsuit argues Trump has signaled he wants to compensate January 6 rioters, claiming they were "treated unfairly." The new fund would allow him to do so with little oversight. On his first day of his second term, Trump issued blanket pardons to nearly all participants and commuted sentences for 14 others.
Dunn and Hodges continue to face violent threats and harassment for defending the Capitol. They claim compensating their attackers will encourage further violence.
The Trump administration has refused to rule out paying January 6 participants from the "anti-weaponisation" fund. The fund was created as part of a settlement between Trump and the Justice Department, which he controls.
In January, Trump sued the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns, seeking $10 billion in damages. Critics called it a conflict of interest. Judge Kathleen Williams questioned whether the parties were "sufficiently adverse."
The case was settled Monday, with the administration directing the Justice Department to draw $1.776 billion from the Judgement Fund. The settlement stipulates the government has no liability for fraud protection.
The lawsuit by Dunn and Hodges is expected to be one of several legal challenges. Democrats have expressed outrage over alleged self-dealing. The officers argue the fund's sum has "no plausible basis" in Trump's claims and that his IRS lawsuit was "frivolous."
They fear the fund will amount to "public financing of paramilitary organizations in the United States" if not dissolved.
Source: www.aljazeera.com