The Department of Justice logo is displayed, May 6, 2025 in Washington, DC.Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
The Justice Department’s third-highest-ranking official indicated recently in a now-removed post that the Trump administration intended to pursue a different strategy for compensating individuals affected by alleged Biden-era “weaponization.”
This communication emerged merely hours after the acting attorney general assured Congress that the DOJ was abandoning its initiatives for a proposed “Anti-Weaponization Fund.”
The establishment of this fund was agreed upon in return for President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, along with two civil actions connected to the Russia investigation he encountered during his initial term and the 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago residence.
Stanley Woodward, the associate attorney general who sanctioned the president’s contentious agreement, responded favorably to a proposition advanced by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on X on Tuesday, suggesting that those harmed by purported Biden-era “weaponization” might still receive restitution through claims filed under the Federal Torts Claims Act.
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche testifies during a House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building on June 02, 2026 in Washington, DC.Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
“We are addressing it,” Woodward posted at 10:45 p.m. on Tuesday evening, in reply to Graham’s statement. Woodward’s post was removed on Wednesday morning, and a DOJ spokesperson has not yet responded to ABC’s inquiry regarding the reason for its absence from his X account.
This action follows closely on the heels of acting AG Todd Blanche informing House members that the administration was permanently discontinuing plans for its “Anti-Weaponization Fund.”
However, under pressure from Democrats, Blanche refrained from formally committing the department’s stance in writing.
Democrats might leverage Woodward’s post as confirmation that the administration is exploring an alternative method to remunerate individuals involved in the January 6 events.
In an interview recorded on Tuesday for the podcast “Pod Force One,” Trump stated that he was not retracting the fund, but rather that the court had “ruled against it.”
During the podcast discussion, which was set to commence shortly before Blanche’s hearing, Trump remarked that those to whom he had granted pardons—ostensibly referring to the January 6 participants—ought to be “reimbursed for a corrupt government.”
-ABC News’ Katherine Faulders contributed to this report.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com