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On Tuesday evening, a notable quote from John Adams, the second U.S. president, was illuminated on the Department of Justice building. This followed the Trump administration’s recent unveiling of a so-called “anti-weaponization fund.”
The phrase “A government of laws, not of men” was projected over a banner featuring President Trump, which is displayed on the building’s facade.
The projection was organized by Justice Connection, a group advocating for the preservation of the Justice Department’s “integrity” and the “rule of law,” according to its founder Stacey Young, as reported by NBC.
Young criticized the establishment of a $1.776 billion compensation fund intended for individuals claiming grievances against the government.
She described the fund as an “extraordinary abuse of power,” warning that it signals the deterioration of the rule of law. Young referred to the fund as a “slush fund.”
Justice Connection as well as some lawmakers have raised concerns with the fund.
“Trump is trying to commandeer nearly $1.8 billion in taxpayer funds to bankroll a slush fund for January 6 cop-beaters and aggrieved MAGA foot soldiers,” Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin (Md.) said in a statement.
“This massive abuse of public money also has glaring constitutional defects: Only Congress has the power to appropriate federal dollars, and we didn’t appropriate a cent for the J6 millionaire trust fund,” he added, after introducing a bill to block payments from the fund.
However, Trump and Vice President Vance defended the creation of the fund for claims against the government.
“We’re trying to compensate people where the book was thrown at them, they were mistreated by the legal system,” Vance told reporters at a Tuesday White House press briefing.
The creation of the fund comes after the Justice Department and Trump came to an agreement to dismiss a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS.
In exchange, the agency will be “forever barred” from auditing Trump’s old tax returns.
Trump and his oldest sons, who were also plaintiffs in the IRS suit, will not receive a payout from the fund but will be given a formal apology.