The exact criteria for receiving money from Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion “weaponization” compensation slush fund remains an open question — but his supporters who feel they have been victimized are already lining up to collect a slice of the pie, and laying out plans for what they might do with it.
“Anybody can apply,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told lawmakers during a hearing before the Senate on Tuesday. He even suggested that former first-child Hunter Biden could be eligible to file for compensation stemming from federal investigations into his taxes and possession of a firearm. But while Hunter Biden and Democrats may be welcome to apply, who will be approved by the obscure five-person review panel supposedly doling out the cash is unclear. The Trump administration, however, is going out of its way to ensure that pardoned Jan. 6 defendants and beleaguered allies to the president should feel free to begin preparing their applications, even if they were convicted of violent offenses.
During a Tuesday press conference, Vice President J.D. Vance complained that Jan. 6 defendants and Trump supporters “never [get] an ounce of sympathy when it comes to disproportionate sentencing,” adding that he wasn’t going to rule out payouts going to anyone, even those who assaulted cops on Jan. 6.
Enrique Tarrio — former chairman of the Proud Boys who was convicted of seditious conspiracy and sentenced to 22 years in prison — tells Rolling Stone that for many of the Jan. 6 participants pardoned by Trump, the fund could supplant a $100 million lawsuit (Tarrio says the combined total of compensatory and punitive damages is closer to $250 million) against the federal government brought by a coalition of defendants in March.
“We were looking for compensation for the things that we went through,” says Tarrio, who was pardoned by Trump last year. “I think this is a good thing. I think this is an amazing thing, and I think it starts bringing some justice.”
Tarrio adds that while he feels that the individuals who assaulted hundreds of members of law enforcement during the riot were rightful indicted, they should still be eligible to receive payments from the fund “because of the circumstances” surrounding their prosecutions and convictions.
“I think the left does have reason to fret, but not for the reason that they think,” Tarrio says of the prospective payouts, which could potentially include million dollar sums. “A lot of these people are going to want to start organizations with this money. Some of them want to run for local office with this money — and some of them will use it for their current campaign, depending on how fast this thing happens.”
As it stands, at least two convicted Jan. 6 defendants are already running in this year’s midterm elections. In Florida, former male model John Strand — convicted on charges related to his trespassing into the Capitol on Jan. 6 — is running as a Republican candidate in the state’s 19th congressional district. Adam Johnson (also known as the “lectern guy” photographed carrying former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s podium while storming the Capitol) is running for a spot on the Manatee County Commission in Florida after serving 75 days in jail for trespassing in the Capitol. Both were pardoned by Trump.
It’s not just Jan. 6ers eying a potential windfall. Trump ally Mike Lindell told multiple networks that he intended to apply to the fund, citing a supposed $400 million is losses to his company — My Pillow — amid a series of private lawsuits and federal probes into his conduct surrounding the 2020 election. The Trumpian cable outfit One America News told CNN it was “seriously considering pursuing rights under this fund,” to recoup funds lost in various defamation lawsuits brought against them over their spread of conspiracy theories related to the 2020 election. Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney, told NBC news he is considering appealing to the DOJ for compensation related to his tax evasion and congressional perjury convictions.
But before anyone starts receiving their checks, the fund will have to withstand the congressional and legal challenges headed its way. On Wednesday, D.C. law enforcement officers who were attacked on Jan. 6 sued the Trump administration in an attempt to block the fund from moving forward.
“Why would you pay people who attacked the police at the Capitol of the United States who tried to stop the peaceful transfer of power?” D.C. Police Officer Daniel Hodges told NPR. “Why would you pay people who wanted to assassinate the vice president? You know, the list goes on and on. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Lawmakers in the Capitol also seem to agree that the fund’s structure and purpose does not make sense — including large chunks of the GOP. According to Punchbowl News, Republican lawmakers expressed deep frustration with Blanche and the administrations during a two-hour, closed-door meeting on Thursday.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters on Wednesday that he was “not a big fan” of the slush fund, which was authorized by the administration outside of Congress’ appropriations authority. “We have a lot of members who are concerned, obviously, about the timing, but also about the substance,” he added Thursday.
His caucus members were far more explicit. “It will invariably put us in a position where your taxpayer dollars and my taxpayer dollars could potentially compensate someone who assaulted a police officer, admitted their guilt, got convicted, got pardoned, and now we’re going to pay them for that?” Said an incredulous Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) during an interview with Spectrum News.
“I think it’s stupid on stilts,” he added.
