Michael Fanone, a former D.C. Metropolitan Police officer who was attacked by a mob of Donald Trump supporters during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, expressed outrage on Monday over the Justice Department's $1.7 billion 'anti-weaponization fund' that could be used to pay claims of those charged for their role in the insurrection.
Fanone's Reaction
In an appearance on CNN's 'Anderson Cooper 360,' Fanone stated, 'It's rubbing salt in the wound to all of the officers that fought to defend the Capitol.' He argued that the 'day one' pardons of about 1,500 Jan. 6 rioters were the 'nail in the coffin of accountability' and called the administration's latest move 'adding insult to injury.'
On his Substack page, Fanone described the fund, set at $1.776 billion — a reference to the year of the nation's founding — as a 'slush fund' created in exchange for Trump dropping his $10 billion lawsuit against the DOJ. Earlier this year, Trump sued the IRS and Treasury Department over a leak of his tax information and is also dropping separate administrative claims for damages.
Purpose of the Fund
According to the DOJ, the fund is intended to pay those who have 'suffered weaponization and lawfare,' alarming Democrats who fear it could be used to compensate Trump's political allies. Fanone wrote, 'It's a flex, a big fuck you to America, and it's being paid for with your tax dollars.' He continued, 'A nearly 2 billion dollar slush fund wrapped in an American symbol to be placed like a wreath at Arlington Cemetery to the violent insurrectionists who tried to overthrow democracy over a lie. In my book, this is the greatest betrayal of them all.'
Fanone added, 'It absolutely f**king disgusts me to my core.'
Trump's Response
When asked about the fund, Trump told reporters on Monday that he knew 'very little about it.' Fanone, however, accused Trump of offering a 'buyout' to 'violent criminals for committing violent crimes on his behalf.' He said, 'It's a buyout. It's part of his normalization of political violence, which, quite frankly, no one has done more to normalize political violence in this country than Donald Trump himself.'
