Durbin warns DOJ against compensating ‘rioters’ in ‘anti-weaponization’ fund
Key takeaways
- Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, argued that the anti-weaponization fund would undermine law enforcement safety and encourage political violence.
- The fund is part of a recent settlement tied to President Trump s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns, which he agreed to drop in exchange for the fund s creation, among other demands.
- Durbin and other lawmakers have pressed the DOJ for transparency around who would be eligible to receive the funds.
Why this matters: political developments that affect policy direction and public trust.
Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) is pushing back against the Department of Justice (DOJ) over its willingness to provide payouts in a $1.776 billion compensation fund for people who allege the legal system was weaponized against them — including those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, argued that the anti-weaponization fund would undermine law enforcement safety and encourage political violence.
The notion of the federal government doling out compensation to rioters who sought to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power and violently assaulted members of the United States Capitol Police and Metropolitan Police Department on January 6, 2021 is absurd and offensive, the Illinois Democrat wrote in a letter to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, first shared with NBC News.