The Justice Department told senators that President Donald Trump and his sons won’t financially benefit from a new $1.8 billion fund to address victims of government “weaponization” and assured them the money would carry no partisan restrictions.
The agency in a memo obtained by Bloomberg Government released details on how the fund will award money and how it will be overseen.
The memo says senators “whose records were secretly subpoenaed” can request payments from the fund. Some Republican senators have objected to their phone records being accessed as part of an FBI probe during the Biden administration. Eight GOP senators’ and one House Republican’s personal cell phones were targeted, the Republican-led Judiciary Committee announced in a release last year citing an FBI record.
The fund will be run by five members appointed by the attorney general, and one member will be chosen in consultation with congressional leadership, the memo states. The commission will “consider a claimant’s personal conduct and character” when deciding whether to make a payment.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche met with GOP senators Thursday, seeking to assuage concerns about the fund that have bogged down a bill to fund immigration enforcement agencies. Republicans are considering punting a vote on that bill until after their Memorial Day recess.
Thune said ahead of the meeting that Republicans want to make sure the fund is “fenced in appropriately,” amid concern from lawmakers about how it will be used.
(Adds additional information from memo in paragraphs 3-4, information on vote in paragraph 5, and Thune quote in paragraph 6. )