Todd Blanche Backs Trump’s $1.8B ‘Cash Cow’ for Capitol Rioters

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is throwing down the gauntlet, defending President Donald Trump’s nearly $1.8 billion “cash cow” that critics claim could funnel taxpayer dollars to Capitol rioters.

Blanche is gearing up to appoint a five-member panel to oversee the so-called “Anti-Weaponization” fund, a reserve aimed at compensating Trump’s allies who feel they’ve been unfairly targeted by the legal system.

But hold on—this fund has raised eyebrows, especially since it could potentially reward those who stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, and clashed with law enforcement.

“Let’s be clear, people who harm police often get payouts,” Blanche told CNN’s Paula Reid in a no-holds-barred interview.

“It’s disgusting to ever lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, and we will prosecute anyone who does,” he continued. “But that doesn’t mean someone can’t file a claim.”

When Trump made his return to the White House in January 2025, he granted clemency to over 1,500 individuals charged in connection with the Capitol riot.

On that fateful day in 2021, a pro-Trump mob violently breached the Capitol in a desperate bid to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory.

While Blanche insists Trump “does not condone violence against law enforcement,” he dodged the question of whether a rioter could actually cash in from this fund.

“The commissioners will weigh the claimant’s actions—if someone says, ‘I assaulted a cop and I want money,’ that’s their call,” Blanche reassured Reid. “Whether they’ll get anything is up to the panel.”

In a bold move, former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn and Metropolitan Police Department Officer Daniel Hodges, both injured during the January 6 chaos, filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday seeking to dismantle this controversial fund.

Describing it as “the most brazen act of presidential corruption this century,” the lawsuit accuses Trump of creating a “taxpayer-funded slush fund” to support insurrectionists and paramilitary groups acting in his name.

A spokesperson from the Justice Department fired back, stating, “The only illegal and corrupt aspect here is the blatant weaponization of federal resources by past administrations against those with differing political views.”

The “anti-weaponization” fund emerged from a settlement related to a $10 billion lawsuit filed by Trump, his children, and the Trump Organization against the IRS over leaked tax records during his first term.

This fund aims to “systematically address claims from individuals who assert they’ve suffered harm from similar Lawfare and Weaponization,” according to the settlement agreement.

Blanche maintained during his CNN appearance that getting money from this fund isn’t about striking it rich.

“There are claims processes in place for large groups of potential victims,” he explained. “It doesn’t mean everyone walks away wealthy.”

Senator Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican who recently lost his primary after being targeted by Trump, slammed the use of government funds while Americans grapple with soaring living costs.

“People are worried about paying their bills—not about creating a $1.8 billion fund for the President and his allies to distribute as they please without any accountability,” he vented on X Wednesday night.

When asked how average taxpayers might react to this fund, Blanche confidently stated, “I don’t think Americans have an issue with it. In fact, I believe they want their tax dollars spent on initiatives like this.”