He pardoned the January 6 attackers. He erased the prosecution records. He called the whole thing a hoax. And now he’s created a $1.776 billion fund that could pay them.
The Justice Department — his Justice Department — announced an “Anti-Weaponization Fund” as part of his IRS settlement. It will hear claims from people who say they were victims of government “weaponization and lawfare.” It can award monetary relief. And when asked directly whether January 6 defendants could collect from it, senior DOJ officials would not rule it out.
$1.776 billion. The number is not a coincidence. It’s a taunt.
Think about what’s happening here. The people who beat police officers, smashed through the Capitol, and tried to stop the certification of a democratic election are potentially in line for a government payout — funded by taxpayers — because the administration has decided their prosecution was the real injustice.
This is the complete inversion of accountability. The attackers become victims. The prosecutors become criminals. The Justice Department becomes a compensation fund for people who tried to overthrow an election.
And the rest of us get to pay for it.
When the government starts writing checks to the people who attacked democracy, it’s not administering justice anymore. It’s sending a message about who this country belongs to.
Sources: DOJ announcement | Reuters — potential Jan. 6 payouts | Semafor analysis