Blanche Defends $1.776 Billion “Anti-Weaponization” Fund

Anti-Weaponization fund – Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the Justice Department’s “Anti-Weaponization” fund during a CNN interview Wednesday, arguing Americans want their tax dollars used to compensate “victims of lawfare and weaponization.” The fund is slated to receive

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche didn’t try to soften the point. In an interview Wednesday. he said he believes most Americans will not be angered by a new Justice Department plan meant to compensate people deemed “victims of lawfare and weaponization” — even though the money is coming from taxpayer funds.

Blanche’s defense came as the Justice Department’s “Anti-Weaponization” fund entered a more politically fraught phase. The department unveiled the plan Monday as part of a settlement agreement in President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leaking of his tax returns.

Under the plan, the fund is set to receive $1.776 billion in taxpayer money. A Justice Department press release said it can be used to pay out “victims of lawfare and weaponization.”

In the CNN interview, Blanche argued that the mission of the fund — reimbursing people for alleged wrongs committed by the government — is exactly what many taxpayers would support.

“If you said to the American taxpayer that there is a horrible wrong committed by your government. and now you can apply. and you can have your lawyers’ fees back. you can be compensated for what you lost financially … what American would say, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s terrible’?” Blanche said. “I very much disagree with the idea that the American taxpayer is indignant that a victim of weaponization [gets compensation] — I think they want their tax dollars spent on things like that.”.

He drove the point further. “I do not think the American people have issues with that. To the contrary, I think they do want their tax dollars spent on things like that.”

That argument landed in the middle of intensifying public pushback. Widespread criticism of the fund has come from many prominent Democrats. who have called it a “slush fund” and a “personal rewards program” aimed at funneling money to Trump’s allies. Blanche did not directly engage those claims in the interview.

Instead, he addressed a different flashpoint: whether the fund’s eligibility could reach people who hurt law enforcement officers. In the same CNN appearance, Blanche shrugged off the suggestion that anyone convicted of attacking law enforcement officers should be barred.

“To be clear, people that hurt police get money all the time,” he said. “It’s abhorrent to ever. ever touch a law enforcement officer. which is why anytime anybody does that and it’s a federal officer. we’ll prosecute them. But that’s a completely different question, with whether an individual is allowed to apply for a claim.”.

That distinction is now colliding with new legal action. On Wednesday. the fund became the subject of a lawsuit filed by two police officers who defended the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. The timing matters: the lawsuit arrives as many of the since-pardoned. pro-Trump rioters are expected to seek compensation from the fund.

The fund’s critics have focused on the political implications of that sequence — compensation for people connected to the Capitol attack after presidential pardons. paired with compensation for those framed as law-enforcement victims of “weaponization.” Blanche’s comments about eligibility leave the question open in the minds of lawmakers and the public: how far the policy’s reach extends. and who will ultimately be able to apply.

While most of the loudest opposition has been attributed to Democrats, a small number of Republicans have also sounded uneasy. In an interview with the BBC. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said he was “not a big fan” of the fund and “not sure exactly how they intend to use it.” Thune added. “My assumption is that. based on some of the blowback that’s come since this was announced. that there would be a significant amount of attention paid to it.”.

For now. Blanche is staking the administration’s position on a simple premise: that when taxpayers are told government wrongdoing occurred — and that people can seek reimbursement and lawyers’ fees — Americans will view compensation as a matter of justice. not outrage. But as lawsuits begin and the eligibility questions widen. the political fight around what the fund is for is only growing louder.

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