January 6 police officers sue Trump over $1.8bn fund, alleging ‘presidential corruption’

Key Points:

• Two police officers who defended the US Capitol during the January 6, 2021 insurrection have filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump over a $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization" fund they claim supports rioters and paramilitary groups.
• The fund was established as part of a deal where Trump and his sons dropped a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, and critics argue it serves as a taxpayer-funded slush fund to compensate Trump's allies allegedly victimized by prosecutorial overreach.
• Officers Harry Dunn and Daniel Hodges, both injured during the Capitol attack, allege the fund encourages further violence and increases credible threats against them, calling it the "most brazen act of presidential corruption this century."
• Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent are named defendants; Blanche has not ruled out payouts to January 6 rioters, stating fund commissioners appointed by him and removable by Trump will decide disbursements.
• Trump and Senator JD Vance have defended the fund's possibility of compensating rioters, with Vance noting anyone, including Hunter Biden, is welcome to apply, highlighting the fund's broad eligibility criteria.