President Donald Trump told reporters on Monday that he knew "very little" about the $1.7 billion "anti-weaponization fund" established by the Justice Department. The fund was created as part of a settlement in which Trump dropped a $10 billion lawsuit against his own government over leaked tax information.
Trump's Response
"Well, it's been very well received," Trump said of the fund, which could potentially be used to compensate individuals convicted for their involvement in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Despite the fund's potential scope, Trump claimed, "I know very little about it. I wasn't involved in the creation of it and the negotiation."
Settlement Details
The fund is part of Trump's settlement with the Internal Revenue Service regarding the 2020 leak of his tax information. Additionally, Trump is withdrawing administrative claims for damages related to the DOJ's criminal cases against him for storing classified documents after leaving the White House and attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
Democratic Criticism
Many Democrats have condemned the settlement. Representative Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) called it a "slush fund" on social media, stating: "President Trump dropped a $10 billion lawsuit against his own government in exchange for a $1.776 billion slush fund to steer our tax dollars to election deniers and insurrectionists."
Committee Decision
When asked whether individuals who committed violence against police officers should receive payments, Trump deferred to an unannounced committee. "It'll all be dependent on a committee," he said. "A committee's being set up of very talented people, very highly respected people. I think it's a committee of five." He added that the decisions would be made by "a group of four to five people that are respected and very brilliant at what they do."
Pirro's Response
Jeanine Pirro, U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, also professed ignorance about the fund. When asked, she turned to a colleague and whispered, "What weaponization?" In response to a follow-up question about using taxpayer money for Jan. 6 rioters, Pirro said, "I don't know anything about this. I'm not involved in that. You always ask these out-of-my-lane questions." Pirro's office, under then-U.S. Attorney Matthew Graves, prosecuted over 1,500 individuals involved in the Capitol attack.
