Blanche Says Trump “Slush Fund” Payouts Could Include Jan. 6 Participants |
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During Senate testimony on Tuesday, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told senators that anybody in the U.S. who feels they’ve been wrongly targeted by federal prosecutors or investigators will now be eligible for millions of dollars in payouts — including violent participants in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol building.
The new “anti-weaponization fund” is the result of a settlement from a lawsuit President Donald Trump and his family filed against the IRS, in which they had sought $10 billion in damages. After dropping the suit, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the creation of the fund, which totals $1.776 billion, stating it will be paid out to individuals claiming to have been unfairly targeted by past administrations.
The president has been considering compensating the loyalists who attacked the Capitol on his behalf for over a year. He has already granted a blanket pardon to the more than 1,500 individuals who participated in that day’s violent breach of the building.
Asked by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) whether the fund could entail payouts to those individuals, Blanche indicated that it could.
“Anybody in this country is eligible to........