DOJ's No. 3 Official Deletes Post Backing Alternate Payouts as $10 Billion Trump Deal Faces Scrutiny
Updated
Updated · abcnews.com · Jun 3
DOJ's No. 3 Official Deletes Post Backing Alternate Payouts as $10 Billion Trump Deal Faces Scrutiny
3 articles · Updated · abcnews.com · Jun 3
Summary
Stanley Woodward deleted a late-night X post after endorsing Sen. Lindsey Graham's idea that alleged Biden-era "weaponization" victims could seek compensation through the Federal Tort Claims Act.
The post appeared hours after acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told House lawmakers the Justice Department was permanently scrapping its planned "Anti-Weaponization Fund," though he declined to put that pledge in writing.
Democrats are likely to cite Woodward's message as evidence the administration may still be exploring another route to compensate Jan. 6 defendants despite Blanche's testimony.
The abandoned fund was part of a settlement under which Trump dropped a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS and two civil claims tied to the Russia investigation and the 2022 Mar-a-Lago search.
Trump added to the confusion in a podcast interview taped Tuesday, saying he was not dropping the fund and that pardoned Jan. 6 participants should be reimbursed for a "crooked government."