On Tuesday night, Stephen Colbert, host of The Late Show, addressed the $1.8 billion 'Anti-Weaponization Fund' established by the Justice Department on behalf of President Donald Trump. Colbert argued that the fund is not as bad as it appears — it is actually worse.
The Settlement Details
The fund was created as part of a settlement of Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS. Its stated purpose is to compensate alleged victims of 'weaponization and lawfare,' potentially including individuals involved in the January 6 Capitol riot. 'That means people who stormed the Capitol, rubbed their poop on the walls, assaulted police officers and tried to hang Vice President Mike Pence could be getting this cash,' Colbert remarked.
Colbert's Prediction
Colbert then offered a prediction: 'But they won’t. ’Cause Trump’s going to steal it all.' He highlighted specific language in the agreement that states 'once the funds are deposited into the Designated Account, the United States has no liability whatsoever for the protection or safeguarding of those funds, regardless of bank failure, fraudulent transfers, or any other fraud or misuse of the funds.'
Colbert characterized the arrangement as an 'all-you-can-fraud buffet' and 'an unprecedented level of grift.' He noted that 'funds of this scale typically are either created by an act of Congress or supervised by a court. And this settlement is just some piece of paper they printed out saying that Trump can do anything he wants with a bunch of your money.'
Colbert's monologue continued with further commentary on the potential misuse of the funds.
