US police officers sue Trump over $1.8bn ‘anti-weaponisation’ fund

Key Points:

• Two Washington, DC police officers, Harry Dunn and Daniel Hodges, have sued the Trump administration over the establishment of a $1.776 billion "anti-weaponisation" fund intended to compensate alleged victims of government actions, calling it "the most brazen act of presidential corruption this century."
• The officers seek to dissolve the fund to prevent taxpayer money from being used to compensate participants in the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack, during which both were injured; they argue the fund would finance violent rioters and encourage further violence against law enforcement.
• The fund was created as part of a settlement between Trump and the Justice Department related to Trump's lawsuit against the IRS over leaked tax returns, a case critics said involved a conflict of interest and lacked legal merit.
• The settlement directs $1.776 billion from the Judgment Fund to be managed by appointees under the attorney general, with little government liability for safeguarding the money, raising concerns of self-dealing and misuse of public funds.
• The lawsuit by Dunn and Hodges is among several expected legal challenges to the fund, with opponents arguing it rewards violence and paramilitary actions, and critics accusing Trump of using his presidential powers to benefit himself and his supporters.