Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Wednesday that Americans have no problem with using tax dollars to pay people who claim the government targeted them for political reasons, even if some of those people took part in the January 6 Capitol riot.
Blanche made the comments during an exclusive interview with CNN, two days after the Justice Department announced a new $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund.”
The fund comes from a settlement in which President Trump dropped a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns.
“I do not think the American people have issues with that. To the contrary, I think they do want their tax dollars spent on things like that,” he said on May 20.
Todd Blanche Explains DOJ’s $1.8B Fund to Senators
Blanche made almost similar comments a day earlier during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, pressed Blanche directly on whether people who assaulted Capitol police officers could get money from the fund.
“Anybody in this country is eligible to apply if they believe they’re a victim of weaponization,” Blanche replied.
He added that the program is not limited to Republicans, to actions under the Biden administration, or to January 6 cases.
Van Hollen called the fund an “outrageous, unprecedented slush fund.” Other Democrats echoed that view, saying it looks like a way to reward Trump’s allies and supporters with taxpayer money.
The fund was created through a settlement agreement in which Trump and his family agreed to drop their major lawsuit against the IRS.
In return, the Justice Department set aside $1.776 billion to handle claims from people who say they were victims of lawfare or political targeting.
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A five-member commission will review applications and decide on payouts and formal apologies. The money comes from the Treasury’s Judgment Fund.
After Blanche claimed that Americans do not have issues with the controversial fund, many Americans quickly pushed back online and in public statements.
“I don’t want my tax dollars spent on giving money to traitors, insurrectionists, and other miscellaneous criminals who tried to overthrow the government at the behest of a mobster president,” one person wrote on X.
Others said they would rather see the money go toward roads, health care, or debt reduction.
The fund is set to run through the end of Trump’s term, with any remaining funds returned to the government.
Blanche said Trump, his family, and his administration will not receive payments from it. He compared the program to past settlements, including a $680 million Obama-era fund for Native American farmers who claimed discrimination.
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Critics say this case is different because it was created as part of a settlement in a lawsuit brought by the sitting president against his own government. Some legal experts and Democrats have questioned whether the arrangement is proper.
Senate Republicans largely stayed quiet on the fund during the hearing, though Sen. Susan Collins of Maine asked practical questions about how the commission will decide claims and ensure fairness.
Blanche promised transparency in how the money is spent, though he noted that privacy laws will limit the details that can be released publicly.
The commission will have the power to award cash and issue official government apologies to those it finds were wronged.
Democrats labeled the fund a reward for Trump loyalists and vowed to challenge it.
Some pointed out that many January 6 defendants have already received pardons or clemency from Trump.
Blanche pushed back on claims that the fund is only for one side. He defended the unusual move as necessary to restore trust in the justice system.
