从实际角度来看，特朗普政府设立的17.76亿美元赔偿基金已经名存实亡。司法部长托德·布兰奇已经撤出了这笔资金，这一决定遭到了两党的严厉批评（他们称这笔资金为“秘密资金”），并且布兰奇也向国会表示不会再重启这一赔偿计划。
For all intents and purposes, the Trump administration’s $1.776 billion compensation fund is no more. Attorney General Todd Blanche has withdrawn the fund, widely panned by both parties as a “slush fund,” and he has told Congress that the initiative will not be revived.
然而，人们仍在质疑白宫是否还有其他途径来奖励那些以唐纳德·特朗普的名义袭击美国国会大厦的暴徒。基于此，本周有几起值得关注的民事诉讼案件被提起。
There is some question, however, about whether there’s a different avenue for the White House to reward the Jan. 6 rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol in Donald Trump’s name. With this in mind, some notable civil suits were filed this week.
《新共和报》报道称：一些因2021年1月6日国会骚乱行为而被起诉的被告正在起诉联邦政府，声称他们的权利受到了侵犯。其中一名被告丽莎·艾森哈特表示：“我之所以遭到针对、被逮捕和起诉，仅仅是因为我作为抗议者之一，在2021年1月6日在美国国会大厦进行的言论表达和结社活动受到了宪法的保护。”其实，将这种暴力叛乱行为称为“受宪法保护的言论表达和结社活动”实在是一种荒谬的表述；这种说法显然无法准确反映事件的本质。
The New Republic reported A group of defendants prosecuted for their actions in the January 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection are suing the federal government, claiming that their rights were violated. One defendant, Lisa Eisenhart, claims that she was “targeted, arrested, prosecuted, and punished because of her constitutionally protected expressive and associational activity as a member of the protesters who gathered at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.”At this point, there’s probably little point in dwelling on how absurd it is to characterize a violent insurrectionist riot as “constitutionally protected expressive and associational activity.”Suffice it to say, that is not an accurate summary of the assault on American democracy.
更值得关注的是：这些原告是否能够获得他们所要求的赔偿和惩罚性赔偿。
Of greater interest is whether the Jan. 6 plaintiffs are likely to receive the compensatory and punitive damages they’re seeking.
就在上个月，在司法部的新闻发布会上，司法部长提到1月6日骚乱者时表示：“总统对此感触很深，我也是，认为有些人是彻底被武器化的司法部的受害者，他强烈希望——希望让他们得到补偿，我也是，但这不会通过‘反武器化基金’来实现。”
As recently as last month, during a Justice Department press conference, the attorney general said in reference to Jan. 6 rioters, “The president feels very strongly, as do I, that there were people who were victims of a Department of Justice that was absolutely weaponized, and he feels very strongly that he would want to — to make them whole, as do I, but it will not be through the anti-weaponization fund.”
此前，特朗普出席NBC新闻节目《与媒体见面》时表示：“如果由我决定，我会付给他们应得的那笔钱。”他补充道：“那些人中有很多应该得到补偿。”这就是为什么小金库明显消亡只讲了一个更大故事的一部分：共和党政府仍有其他财政水龙头——而且从所有迹象来看，它仍想使用它们。而这起新诉讼有助于创造机会使其成为现实。
That came on the heels of Trump appearing on NBC News’ “Meet the Press”and saying“If it was up to me, I’d pay them the kind of money that they deserve.”He added, “Many of those people should be compensated.”This is why the apparent demise of the slush fund tells only part of a larger story: The Republican administration still has other financial spigots — and by all appearances, it still wants to use them. And this new lawsuit helps create an opportunity to make that happen.
事实上，白宫已通过可疑的和解协议，安排由美国纳税人全额买单，向总统的政治盟友支付慷慨的赔偿金——高达数百万纳税人美元——而司法部长已不止一次暗示，甚至更多的赔付也是可能的，甚至很有可能。
Indeed, the White House has already arranged for generous payouts, financed entirely by American taxpayers, to the president’s political allies through dubious settlement agreements— to the tune of several million taxpayer dollars— and the attorney general has already suggested, more than once, that even more payouts are possible, if not likely.
这一过程完全直截了当：1）特朗普的盟友提起一项毫无根据的民事诉讼；2）特朗普的司法部向特朗普的盟友提供一张慷慨的支票，完全由纳税人买单；3）特朗普的盟友同意撤销这项毫无根据的民事诉讼，带着丰厚的赔付金离去。
The process is entirely straightforward: 1) A Trump ally files a meritless civil suit; 2) Trump’s Justice Department offers Trump’s ally a generous check, financed entirely by taxpayers; and 3) the Trump ally agrees to drop the meritless civil suit and walks away with a lucrative payout.
问题不在于政府是否会尝试用这种方法向骚乱者付款，而在于这一策略可能会让美国公众付出多大代价。拭目以待。1月6日骚乱者推动公共赔付。特朗普团队很可能会答应。MS NOW
The question is less about whether the administration will try to use this method to pay rioters, and more about how much this gambit is likely to cost the American public. Watch this space. The post Jan. 6 rioters are pushing for public payouts. Team Trump is likely to oblige. MS NOW