House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday insisted there is no way to know who will benefit from the new $1.8 billion 'Anti-Weaponization Fund' created by President Donald Trump to settle his own lawsuit with his own Justice Department. The fund closely mirrors proposals to compensate those imprisoned for their roles in the January 6, 2021, insurrection, and many rioters have expressed hope they will be eligible.
Despite Vice President JD Vance and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stating on Tuesday that January 6 rioters would be eligible for payouts, Johnson acted as though the details were unknown. 'We don't know any of the details of that settlement fund,' Johnson said. 'They are setting up a fund to compensate all Americans who have been subject to the target of lawfare or weaponization of the federal government. That's not a partisan proposition, either. Everybody should support that. He did not say who will be eligible.'
When asked specifically by CNN's Manu Raju if January 6 rioters should be eligible, Johnson declined to comment. Previously, Johnson told HuffPost he did not believe pardoned insurrectionists should receive compensation.
Thomas Smith, a January 6 rioter whose nine-year prison sentence for assaulting police was cut short by Trump's pardon, told HuffPost that he believes the fund was created with people like him in mind. He said he and a group of J6ers have been consulting attorneys about how to apply. 'We should all be taken care of, for sure,' Smith said. 'We were told back in the beginning that what was happening to us was unjust, it was unconstitutional, and that we would be taken care of before this was all said and done.'
Smith is among hundreds of January 6 rioters who have already filed administrative claims with the Justice Department seeking compensation for alleged mistreatment. The settlement agreement establishing the fund states that the attorney general will set up a five-member commission to create a 'systematic process' to hear and redress claims of mistreatment by the government under President Joe Biden.
'The fact of the matter is, the real weaponization happened to the citizens that actually went and stood up for ourselves on Jan. 6 and were attacked by police,' Smith said. The agreement specifies that a 'claimant who already has a claim pending in court or administrative proceedings may be eligible for relief,' an apparent reference to people in Smith's position.
Smith said he was encouraged by Vice President Vance's remarks during a White House briefing on Tuesday. Vance specifically said the commission would consider claims by people who attacked police in January 2021. 'We have people accused of attacking law enforcement officers — that doesn't mean that we're going to completely ignore some of the claims they're going to make,' Vance said. 'If we think somebody was unfairly prosecuted and deserves just compensation, it's going to correct a wrong.'
Johnson's stance differs from Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), who said he is 'not a big fan' of the settlement fund and that the administration must answer questions about it. Retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) pointed to comments by former Justice Department official Ed Martin, a strong supporter of January 6 defendants, who reportedly told a confidant that rioters would receive millions, according to NBC News. 'Imagine that: a fund that is set up to compensate people who assaulted Capitol police officers and other responding agencies,' Tillis told reporters. 'How absurd does that sound coming out of my mouth?'
