Administration Backs Down After Suspension, Probe
Axios reported on June 1 (local time) that President Donald Trump has decided to withdraw a proposed 1.8 billion USD Judicial Victims Fund (about 2.7 trillion KRW). Critics said the fund would use taxpayer dollars to benefit his hardline supporters who took part in the January 6 Capitol breach, and Trump ultimately backed down amid the backlash.
Citing senior administration officials, Axios said the proposal is “effectively shelved for now,” adding that it had become a distraction from governing and that “now is not the right time or the right vehicle to address the issue.”
What was presented as a fund to help victims of government abuse has instead become a political liability for the administration.
The administration’s decision came after federal courts intervened. On May 29, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Virginia temporarily halted the fund’s implementation. That same day, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Florida opened an inquiry, saying the integrity of the entire settlement process was in question.
The fund was part of a settlement in which President Trump agreed to drop a 10 billion USD lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the alleged leak of his tax records. The agreement, which called for creating the fund, also included a permanent immunity clause that would bar the IRS from investigating Trump, his family or related businesses for past tax matters — a provision that provoked widespread criticism.
The proposal drew sharp objections from Democrats and some Republicans. Party leaders warned that taxpayer money could effectively compensate participants in the January 6 attack, and former Vice President Mike Pence called the idea “very disturbing.”
The episode also exposed confusion inside the White House. One source told Axios that senior West Wing aides participated in discussions between the president’s legal team and the Justice Department, while another senior official said that was not true and that “the West Wing was completely blindsided.”
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