Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was on Capitol Hill Tuesday, facing questions in a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing.
Tuesday’s hearing was scheduled for the acting attorney general to discuss the upcoming budget for the Department of Justice, but Monday’s announcement of a nearly $1.8 billion ‘anti-weaponization fund’ overshadowed questions about the budget.
The nearly $1.8 billion fund was created as part of legal settlement aimed at compensating people who believe they were wrongfully targeted by the government.
Blanche insisted anyone would be eligible to file a claim.
“It's not limited to Republicans, it's not limited to Democrats, it's not limited to January 6 defendants, it's limited only by the term weaponization,” he said.
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Blanche told the Senators that five commissioners will be appointed to lead the fund, but he didn’t offer any specifics on what expertise those people will have.
Democrats want assurances that the $1.8 billion won't go to people convicted for assaulting police officers on January 6.
“But why not this specific issue of violent acts? Conviction of violent acts against police officers. Do you feel they should get compensation after being convicted of violent acts?" Asked Sen. Jeff Merkley, (D-OR).
“My feelings don't matter, Senator. In my mind, my mind is not limiting to say yes, I don't commit to this or that. What I will commit to is making sure that the commissioners are effectively doing their jobs, and that includes setting guidelines like you're describing," Blanche said.
The acting attorney general did commit to making the fund’s quarterly reports available to the public.
But questions remain about who will be appointed to control this fund and what rules will be put in place to decide which claims are and are not worthy of a payout.
Democrats also raised concerns about the Trump family potentially getting a payment from this ‘anti-weaponization’ fund.
But Blanche testified that President Trump and his family will not get any proceeds from the fund.
