Todd Blanche won't rule out payments to Jan. 6 rioters
· UPIWASHINGTON, May 19 (UPI) -- Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, in a Senate hearing Tuesday, refused to rule out payments to convicted Jan. 6, 2021, rioters and Jeffrey Epstein-related sexual abuse perpetrators as part of the Justice Department's controversial $1.776 billion fund.
This new "Anti-Weaponization Fund," announced by the department Monday, was created to compensate President Donald Trump's allies who say they were unfairly targeted by the former Democratic Biden administration.
The fund is consistent with the Trump administration's efforts to compensate his allies, including Jan. 6 offenders whom the president pardoned when he regained office in 2025, according to Democratic senators in the hearing.
Democrats and some Republicans questioned the validity of the legality of claims and the need to spend that many taxpayer dollars at a time of inflation and a costly war in Iran.
"That is pure theft of public funds, and rewarding individuals who committed crimes is obscene," said Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. "Every American can see through this illegal, corrupt, self-dealing scheme."
Blanche defended the fund In a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies hearing on the Justice Department's fiscal 2027 budget request. He said that "anyone can apply" for compensation if "they believe they were a victim of weaponization."
The $1.776 billion fund is a nod to 1776, they year in which the Declaration of Independence was signed. The fund was created when Trump agreed to drop a $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of the president's tax returns.
Blanche said the fund was not approved by a federal court, but will be overseen by a five-person commission, four of whom the acting attorney general will appoint within the next 30 days.
Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., expressed concern about this plan for oversight and guidelines for compensation, urging Blanche to encourage guidelines that bar payments to convicted rioters.
"I would hope you make a rule that anyone convicted of assaulting a police officer is simply not eligible. They should not apply," Merkley said.
Blanche responded that those guidelines would be defined by the commission that he selects.
He said the fund was "unusual" but not "unprecedented," adding that anyone regardless of party can apply for compensation.
"This all seems to be an obvious abuse of power by justice by the president," said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I..
Since Blanche assumed the role of acting attorney general, he has moved forward with the president's priorities, such as initiating a second indictment of former FBI Director James Comey and cracking down on journalists for allegedly receiving classified information.
"You are still acting as the president's personal lawyer, not as acting attorney general," Van Hollen told Blanche, citing his meeting with convicted child sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell before she was moved to a low-security prison in July.
At a White House press briefing Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance defended Blanche, arguing that the fund is standard practice. He added that no funds would go to the president, his administration or family members.
"We're trying to compensate people where the book was thrown at them, and they were mistreated by the legal system," Vance said.