Justice Department Ends Federal Rewards For Being Investigated
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche rescinded the Justice Department’s $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund on Sunday, ending a federal compensation program for politically connected Americans forced to endure the indignity of being investigated. No claims had been processed and no money had been distributed, depriving taxpayers of the opportunity to reimburse public figures for legal scrutiny already funded by taxpayers. The cancellation helped Blanche secure support from Republican Sens. John Cornyn and Thom Tillis, who adopted the extremist position that federal settlements should involve documented damages rather than hurt feelings, television appearances and a sufficiently vigorous pronunciation of “lawfare.”
The decision devastated the nation’s fastest-growing civil-rights constituency: powerful people who believe contact with the justice system should generate Treasury store credit. President Donald Trump mourned the fund, which emerged from the settlement of his lawsuit over the disclosure of his tax information and had since evolved into a broader loyalty rebate. “This was the greatest anti-weaponization fund in history, maybe greater than Social Security, because Social Security only pays old people, while this protected innocent people who know me,” Trump said. “Now Republicans are saying taxpayer money belongs to taxpayers, which is a very radical and unfair interpretation of taxes.”
Under Blanche’s austerity regime, Trump allies claiming political persecution will now have to seek compensation through the primitive pre-MAGA court system, where plaintiffs are occasionally asked to present evidence, identify measurable harm and complete forms without a cable-news chyron. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley welcomed the fund’s demise, further weaponizing the government against citizens whose principal hardship was encountering consequences in an economy already suffering from a severe shortage of consequence-free influence. Blanche’s confirmation effort may now advance, demonstrating that Washington can still function whenever two Republican senators threaten to delay one presidential loyalist until another presidential loyalty program disappears. The episode established a durable national legal principle: being investigated is proof of innocence, and knowing the president is proof of damages.
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