– The Washington Times
President Trump cannot collect any of the money from his administration’s new $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund, but Hunter Biden, son of the former president, can.
Those who intruded on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, can apply, as can Tina Peters, a former Colorado county clerk who was investigated by the FBI for breaching voting systems to try to prove fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
Top Trump officials said Tuesday that the money is available to anyone who can prove they were victimized by the Biden administration’s overzealous behavior.
Vice President J.D. Vance and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the fund is part of a broader effort to draw a line around the Biden era and declare that its pursuit of political opponents through the legal system must never be repeated. They say the money is a way to compensate those who were victimized.
“Whether you’re Hunter Biden or whether you’re another individual who believed they were a victim of weaponization, they can all apply,” Mr. Blanche told senators.
The fund was created as part of a settlement between Mr. Trump and the IRS, an agency he oversees as president.
Mr. Trump agreed to drop a $10 billion lawsuit stemming from the IRS leak of his private tax information, and the government subsequently set up a fund to help others.
As part of the deal, Mr. Trump, his sons and the Trump Organization, all parties to the lawsuit, agreed to accept an apology but will not be able to receive any of the money from the fund.
“Is a dollar of this money going to the Trump administration? No. Is a dollar of this money going to President Trump personally? No. Is a dollar of this money going to President Trump’s family? No,” Mr. Vance told reporters at the White House.
He said it is too early to say whether money would go to those who took part in the Capitol riot, but that they have the right to apply and, in some cases, could have good claims.
He said the goal is not to reward those who assaulted police officers but to make up for an overzealous Justice Department, even in cases in which someone “did something bad.”
Mr. Vance said the left-wing legal academy and a plethora of nonprofit groups regularly challenge punishments for convicts, arguing that the sentences for Jan. 6 participants were too harsh for the crimes.
“You know who never, ever gets an ounce of sympathy when it comes to that disproportionate sentencing is people who voted for Donald Trump and participated in the Jan. 6 protesting,” Mr. Vance said.
Democrats fumed over the fund. They said the president is bilking taxpayers for his own purposes.
“President Trump is literally using their tax dollars to set up a slush fund to enrich his own friends,” said Sen. Patty Murray, Washington Democrat.
Mr. Blanche, a former personal attorney for Mr. Trump, said the fact that Democrats believed an anti-weaponization effort would benefit the president’s allies was telling.
“It proves the point that President Trump has been saying for a very long time, which happens to be true, which is for the first time in our nation’s history, you had an administration [Mr. Biden’s] seek to destroy the previous administration [Mr. Trump’s],” he told senators.
Mr. Blanche said it included calling the president’s gardener to testify to a grand jury. It also included the Justice Department peeking at the phone records of some members of Congress.
The acting attorney general said the government has created similar funds in the past but acknowledged that Mr. Trump’s case was unprecedented.
He said that was the result of the Biden administration’s unprecedented efforts and that the fund is one way to prevent a repeat in future administrations.
“This legal system was not set up to compensate for what the Democrats and Biden and what [Attorney General Merrick] Garland did for four years,” Mr. Blanche said.
“This is about compensating Americans for the lawfare that we saw under the previous administration,” Mr. Vance said.
Although nearly anyone can apply, Mr. Blanche said, decisions on who receives apologies or payouts will be made by a five-member commission that will administer the fund.
The attorney general will appoint all those members, though one appointment must be made after consultation with Congress.
The acting Justice Department chief said he will receive a quarterly report on the fund’s activities and will make it public, though some information about specific claimants may have to be withheld under privacy laws.
He specifically ruled out money for Mr. Trump but said just about anyone else is eligible.
“It’s not limited to Republicans, it’s not limited to the Biden weaponization, it’s not limited in any way, scope or form to Jan. 6 or Jack Smith,” he said, referring to the Biden administration special counsel who pursued criminal charges against Mr. Trump.
Mr. Vance singled out Tina Peters, the former Colorado clerk, as potentially worthy. She was given a nine-year sentence in state court after she was convicted of facilitating unauthorized access to Mesa County’s election systems as part of a pro-Trump effort to prove fraud in the 2020 election.
“Was that fair? No. Is it reasonable for her to get some compensation for the fact that she was treated unfairly? I think the answer is yes,” Mr. Vance said.
Ms. Peters’ sentence was commuted this month by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat. She is set for release on June 1.
Congressional Democrats demanded that Mr. Blanche find an outside party to sign off on the fund. In particular, they wanted the federal judge overseeing the case to review it.
The judge dismissed the case late Monday, and Mr. Blanche said there is no other outside authority to turn to.
