U.S. President Donald Trump has decided to withdraw a plan for a $1.8 billion (about 2.7 trillion won) "Justice Victims Fund," U.S. media outlet Axios reported Monday local time. The president ultimately backed down amid criticism that taxpayer money would be used to help his hardcore supporters who staged the Capitol riot.
Citing senior Trump administration officials, Axios reported that "the fund proposal is effectively scrapped for now," adding that "the fund has become a headache that is interfering with state affairs, and now is not the right time or means to address this issue."
The fund, launched under the pretext of helping victims of government abuse of power, has instead become a stumbling block for the Trump administration.
The administration's decision came just after federal courts moved to block the plan in succession. On the 29th of last month, Judge Leonie Brinkema of the U.S. District Court in Virginia temporarily halted the disbursement of the fund, and on the same day, Judge Kathleen Williams of the U.S. District Court in Florida launched an investigation, calling the entire settlement process questionable.
The fund was created in exchange for President Trump dropping a $10 billion (about 15 trillion won) lawsuit he had filed against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over the leak of his tax records. The settlement to drop the lawsuit drew controversy because, in addition to creating the fund, it included a permanent immunity clause barring the IRS from further investigating past tax matters involving President Trump, his family and related businesses.
When the fund plan was announced, fierce criticism erupted not only from Democrats but also from within the Republican Party. In particular, Republican leaders expressed displeasure that taxpayer money could be paid as compensation to participants in the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, and former Vice President Mike Pence also criticized it as "a very offensive idea."
There also appeared to have been confusion within the White House during the push for the fund. One source told Axios that "senior White House staff participated in discussions between the president's legal team and the Justice Department," but another senior official countered, "That is absolutely not true. The West Wing of the White House was completely blindsided."
