The House and Senate are both out of session this week for the Memorial Day recess. They will return to Washington next week with 24 days left of both chambers in session before the month-long August recess.
The weaponization of the federal government during the Biden Administration returned to the front burner in Washington last week when the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund.” Branded the “1776 Fund,” it will be used to issue formal apologies and monetary relief owed to claimants.
More from the Department of Justice:
The plaintiffs in the case, President Donald J. Trump, Donald J. Trump, Jr., Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization, LLC, filed suit against the Treasury and IRS in Southern District of Florida federal court following the leak of their tax returns. Per the settlement, plaintiffs will receive a formal apology but no monetary payment or damages of any kind. They have agreed, in exchange for the creation of this fund, to drop their pending lawsuit with prejudice, and also withdraw two administrative claims including for damages resulting from the unlawful raid of Mar-a-Lago and the Russia-collusion hoax…
The Fund will have the power to issue formal apologies and monetary relief owed to claimants. Submission of a claim is voluntary. There are no partisan requirements to file a claim. Any money left when the Fund ceases operations will revert to the Federal Government.
The Fund will receive $1.776 billion and will come from the judgment fund, which is a perpetual appropriation allowing the DOJ to settle and pay cases. On a quarterly basis, the Fund shall send a report to the Attorney General outlining who has received relief and what form of relief was awarded.
At the Attorney General’s direction, the Fund can be audited. The Fund must take steps to protect private information and avoid fraud. The Fund shall cease processing claims no later than December 1, 2028.
There is legal precedent for such a Fund, most notably the “Keepseagle” case where the Obama Administration created a $760 million fund to redress various claims alleging racism against the federal government over a period of decades.
The weaponization undertaken by the Biden Department of Justice has been well documented. It included Biden’s Attorney General Merrick Garland directing the FBI to create a threat tag for parents at school board meetings, the aggressive prosecution of January 6 cases, and the roundup, jailing, and prosecution of peaceful pro-life protestors praying outside abortion clinics.
This draws a sharp contrast with the Biden DOJ’s lenient handling of many 2020 BLM and Antifa-related riots. The Biden administration also engaged in lawfare against its political opponents, including the case against Jeff Clark and the dragnet surveillance of most of the conservative movement under the FBI codenamed operation “Arctic Frost.”
The Senate seems to have other ideas. Reports indicate that when news of this Anti-Weaponization Fund broke, the Senate GOP, in particular, was outraged. They even let some of this frustration spill out into the public when Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche testified before the Senate Appropriations Committee.
As mentioned above, the DOJ is structuring the 1776 Fund through an existing pot of money known as the judgment fund. It has existed for roughly 40 years to provide the government funds with which to settle cases brought against them. The 1776 Fund is not included in the Senate reconciliation bill that the Senate is currently considering in order to fund the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection—but that didn’t stop the Senate from holding the bill hostage.
Out of apparent frustration with the White House, the Senate recessed last week without passing the reconciliation bill to fund immigration enforcement efforts. “It’s stupid,” said conservative Congressman Tim Burchett about the Senate’s anger. “We’ve wasted a whole daggum week, and I think it’s kind of pathetic.”
The Senate will come back next week with these two issues and others to deal with in the waning session days before the month-long August recess.
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