A US judge has officially ruled the controversial compensation fund proposed by the administration of President Donald Trump illegal.
The “Anti-Weaponisation Fund” was designed to provide financial restitution to Trump allies who claimed they were unjustly investigated under former President Joe Biden’s administration.
According to the Department of Justice, the fund aimed to address complaints from individuals who have been "victims of political abuse of the legal system.”
In exchange for creating the fund, Trump agreed to drop a lawsuit he had filed against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and settle the matter.
However, the plan immediately sparked widespread controversy and came under scrutiny from a federal court in Virginia, which launched an investigation.
On Friday, the judge declared it “problematic” that taxpayer money would be allocated to “an extremely small group” perceived by many Americans as having acted “unacceptably.”
Two weeks ago, another judge temporarily suspended the fund’s operations, preventing any disbursement of moneys to alleged victims while awaiting the federal court’s decision.
In early June, the Trump administration indicated that it planned to temporarily distance itself from the initiative.
The fund was reportedly set to contain $1.776 billion — a symbolic reference to the founding year of the United States— or approximately €1.5 billion.
Democrats immediately voiced concerns, warning that recipients could include participants in the Capitol riot of 6 January 2021.
Trump, at the start of his second term, famously pardoned those involved in the attack, which occurred shortly after his electoral defeat to Biden.
