Even diehard Donald Trump defender Scott Jennings acknowledged Monday he is “a little uncomfortable” with the $1.7 billion so-called “anti-weaponization fund” that has been set up, tied to a legal settlement involving the president. CNN’s conservative pundit, during his latest appearance on the “Newsnight” show panel, said he supported the broader idea that people who have been “unfairly targeted by the Department of Justice” should have a way “to seek recourse.” But he expressed concern over the structure of this specific Justice Department-backed fund, which
critics fear may function as a “slush fund” for Trump’s MAGA allies and potentially benefit people involved with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. “All of this makes me a little uncomfortable because it’s a lot of money, and it didn’t go through the U.S. Congress. That’s number one,” Jennings said. “Number two, I don’t want to see a president necessarily handpicking people to get payments where he could be accused of just picking people out who are political allies,” he added.
Watch the segment here: Jennings said he “absolutely” thinks people who have been genuinely “unfairly targeted by the federal government” deserve a path to compensation. But there are limits, he said. “My personal view is that anybody who committed documented violence against the government or against police officers, they’ve not been unfairly treated. If they ended up being convicted of a crime because of the violence they committed. I got no real sympathy for them,” Jennings explained. “Now, if there were people who were on
the periphery that were swept up, over-prosecuted, whatever, and they have a way to seek recourse here, I have less of a problem with that,” he added. “But I draw the line at violence. If you’ve committed political violence, if you attack the government building, if you attack police officers, I got no sympathy.”
Scott Jennings, Donald Trump, anti-weaponization fund, $1.7 billion, Department of Justice, legal settlement, slush fund, MAGA allies, Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack, political violence, U.S. Congress