All posts tagged: slush

Totally unacceptable”: Pence calls slush fund for Jan. 6 rioters “deeply offensive

Totally unacceptable”: Pence calls slush fund for Jan. 6 rioters “deeply offensive

Published by Sam Flores

Former Vice President Mike Pence thinks Donald Trump should “drop” his designs on slush fund created in the president’s recent settlement with the IRS, calling the idea of compensating Jan. 6 rioters “deeply offensive.” Pence shared his take on the Anti-Weaponization Fund during a visit with CBS‘s “Face the Nation” on Sunday. The nearly $1.8 billion fund would compensate people who feel they’ve been unfairly targeted by the Department of Justice. Pence, who was in the U.S. Capitol building as Trump’s supporters stormed it, felt that payouts for pardoned conspiracists was a bridge too far. “I’ll never minimize what happened on January 6. I’ll always believe, by God’s grace, we did our duty that day… the peaceful transfer of power under the Constitution,” he said. “This talk of a weaponization fund, the idea of creating a fund that could compensate people that assaulted police officers and vandalized the Capitol that day is totally unacceptable. My hope is the administration will drop it. Drop the idea entirely.” Pence and Trump have traded barbs publicly since the …

Trump ‘slush fund’ a flashpoint as Senate leaves without funding DHS

Trump ‘slush fund’ a flashpoint as Senate leaves without funding DHS

Published by Sam Flores

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on April 22, 2026 in Washington, DC. Heather Diehl | Getty Images Congress will leave Washington this week without approving a package that would fund immigration enforcement agencies within the Department of Homeland Security, as tensions simmered over a recently announced $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund that could provide payouts to allies of President Donald Trump. The Senate was originally planning to start considering the package Thursday, potentially sending it to the House to take up before both chambers are slated to take a one-week recess. But plans were paused after a meeting at the Capitol with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who was dispatched on Thursday to brief Republican senators on the fund. Some were not satisfied. “I think we need to get some clarity about how this is going to work,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters, according to MS NOW. “Hopefully when we get back a week from Monday we can get right on it and …

Police Officers Who Guarded Capitol Sue to Block Trump’s .8 Billion ‘Slush Fund’

Police Officers Who Guarded Capitol Sue to Block Trump’s $1.8 Billion ‘Slush Fund’

Published by Sam Flores

May 20 (Reuters) – Two police officers ⁠who ⁠defended the U.S. Capitol from ⁠rioters on January 6, 2021, filed a lawsuit on ​Wednesday seeking to halt President Donald Trump’s nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate victims of ‌political “weaponization.” In a complaint filed in ‌federal court in Washington, former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn and Metropolitan ⁠Police Department ⁠officer Daniel Hodges alleged Trump has “created a $1.776 billion taxpayer-funded slush ​fund to finance the insurrectionists and paramilitary groups that commit violence in his name.” The lawsuit seeks a court order blocking payments from the fund, calling it “the most brazen act ​of presidential corruption this century.” Trump settled on Monday with the Internal Revenue ⁠Service, ⁠agreeing to drop his $10 ⁠billion lawsuit ​over the leak of his tax returns during his first term. As part ​of the settlement, the ⁠Justice Department created the fund to compensate victims of political “weaponization.” U.S. acting Attorney General Todd Blanche faced repeated questions over that fund during congressional testimony on Tuesday. Blanche said the money could be given to …

Trump’s .8 Billion Slush Fund Is Worse Than Stealing

Trump’s $1.8 Billion Slush Fund Is Worse Than Stealing

Published by Daniella Wilson

Among the very first things Donald Trump did upon assuming the powers of the presidency for the second time was commute the sentences of, and grant pardons to, everybody involved in his attempt to overturn the 2020 election. Republican allies expressed moderate disappointment but vowed to move past this ugly blemish. Senator Susan Collins called it a “terrible day for our Justice Department.” Senator Tommy Tuberville admitted, “It’s a hard one, because we work with them up here,” referring to Capitol Police who were viciously beaten by Trump’s allies. Tuberville concluded, “At the end of the day, we’ve got to get Jan. 6 behind us.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said that Republicans were “not looking backwards; we’re looking forward.” It was not, however, just one terrible day. Trump’s loyalty to his most violent and criminal supporters was a signal of his highest priority and has been a reliable guide to his decisions ever since. The impulse to rewrite the history of January 6, 2021, appears to be the inspiration even for the establishment of …

Justice Department gifts Trump with slush fund

Justice Department gifts Trump with slush fund

Published by Sam Flores

Last week, during a White House event with law enforcement officials to celebrate National Police Week, Donald Trump said something that any other time in history would have shocked the assembled officers to hear a president say. “We have a man who is doing a great job, I’ll tell you,” he said. “I knew it! Because he kept me out of jail for years. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, he kept me out of jail.”  The roomful of cops dutifully applauded, but the truth behind Trump’s statement is something else entirely. The president wasn’t saved from a prison sentence by any legal brilliance on the part of Blanche. Trump was kept out of jail by a Supreme Court ruling and the 49.8% of Americans who voted for him in 2024 — and who apparently think it’s fine for a president to be a convicted felon. Still, Blanche has shown himself to be Trump’s devoted servant, and he is dedicated to proving it more every day. He is the Roy Cohn Trump has been waiting for. Blanche’s …

“Highway robbery”: Dems accuse Trump of creating .7 billion “slush fund” for Jan. 6 defendants

“Highway robbery”: Dems accuse Trump of creating $1.7 billion “slush fund” for Jan. 6 defendants

Published by Sam Flores

The Department of Justice announced a $1.7 billion fund to compensate people who believe they were unfairly targeted by previous Democratic administrations on Monday. While the DOJ shared that there were  “no partisan requirements” to file a claim, the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” is seen by critics as a way for Jan. 6 defendants and allies of the Trump administration to seek compensation. The fund is part of a settlement agreement in President Donald Trump‘s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS. In exchange for the creation of the fund, Trump and his organization have agreed to drop the lawsuit, as well as claims related to the raid of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. “The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this Department’s intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche shared in a statement. “As part of this settlement, we are setting up a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress.” Democratic …

Top Trump official says no US ‘slush fund’ for far right in Europe – POLITICO

Top Trump official says no US ‘slush fund’ for far right in Europe – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

The message from Rogers appeared to be another sign of the Trump administration trying to send conciliatory signals to Europe, despite the recently published National Security Strategy calling on the U.S. to “cultivate resistance” to the political status quo on the continent. And it came just hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio called for a “strong and revitalized Europe” on the Munich stage.  Rogers has courted controversy by taking to her official social media accounts to launch public attacks, from characterizing immigrants to Germany as “imported barbarian rapist hordes” to connecting Sweden’s migration policy to instances of sexual violence, and for her sharp rebukes of social media regulations in the EU and the United Kingdom. After U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s searing Munich speech last year criticizing European democracies for ostensibly pushing back on free speech rights in efforts to crack down on election interference, Rogers indicated that the U.S. is still making a list of which allies have been naughty and nice, but used a gentler tone.  “In terms of who’s a good …

Top Dem calls out Graham’s “temper tantrum” over “multi-million-dollar slush fund”

Top Dem calls out Graham’s “temper tantrum” over “multi-million-dollar slush fund”

Published by Sam Flores

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Friday appeared to back off his demand to include a provision that would allow senators targeted by former special counsel Jack Smith to seek millions from the Justice Department but vowed to hold up a vote to avert a looming government shutdown unless the bill includes measures to “criminalize” the targeting of lawmakers. Graham on Thursday prevented the passage of a $1.2 trillion, six-bill package, forcing senators to reconvene Friday as the midnight deadline for a government shutdown looms over a sanctuary city crackdown and the removal of his Arctic Frost provision. The senator said he could not “remember putting a hold on an appropriations bill ever before.” Senate Democrats and the White House agreed late Thursday to strip funding for the Department of Homeland Security from the package, replacing it with a two-week stopgap measure. The U.S. House of Representatives previously voted to strip Graham’s controversial Arctic Frost provision from the package, which would have allowed senators to sue the Justice Department if their phone records are seized without their …