Targets of Trump’s retribution slam ‘slush fund,’ saying they’re the real victims of weaponized DOJ
CNN
By Marshall Cohen, Annie Grayer, CNN
(CNN) — Former US Capitol riot prosecutors, fired federal officials and journalists who say they were past targets of President Donald Trump’s retribution tell CNN they may seek compensation from the Justice Department’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund.
Some Trump critics have already sent letters to the DOJ outlining their claims, hoping to draw attention to how the president has harnessed government powers in an effort to punish his political opponents. Others are still debating whether filing a request could legitimize a fund they see as brazenly corrupt.
The six Democratic lawmakers who faced legal scrutiny after publicly urging servicemembers to disobey illegal orders have also discussed whether to apply, according to a source familiar with the matter. If they do end up filing a claim, it would create a major test case of whether the fund is truly party-blind as DOJ has suggested.
Trump loyalist-turned-nemesis Michael Cohen suggested he deserves compensation after his years of legal battles.
“If the weaponization fund truly exists to support individuals whose lives have been destroyed by politically motivated law enforcement tactics, by selective prosecution, by government leaks, abuses of power, and intentional destruction of reputation, then there is perhaps no clearer example than what happened to me,” he said on CBS News. “I guess I would be a test case.”
CNN has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.
The controversial fund was announced as part of a settlement to resolve a $10 billion civil lawsuit Trump filed against the IRS, over a leak of his tax returns. (The perpetrator was caught, pleaded guilty, and went to prison.)
The fund will “right the wrongs that were previously done,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in announcing the fund last week, invoking Trump’s longstanding grievances over the Trump-Russia probe and the 2022 FBI search of Mar-a-Lago. Convicted US Capitol rioters, members of the far-right Proud Boys, 2020 fake electors and other election deniers are also rushing to file claims.
But many of Trump’s loudest critics say the president and his political allies aren’t the victims of weaponization – they’re the perpetrators.
Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, whom Trump fought with during his first term over the Russia probe, is “strongly considering” filing a claim, according to his lawyer Michael Bromwich.
“The idea of this slush fund is crazy, ridiculous and illegal,” Bromwich said. “But if, in fact, money is going to be given to people who were weaponized by the Justice Department, Andy McCabe should be at the front of the line.”
During his first term, Trump regularly attacked McCabe and his wife with false claims. The Trump-era DOJ nearly indicted McCabe after an inspector general report found that he lied about leaking information about Hillary Clinton during the 2016 campaign. (McCabe has denied any wrongdoing.) Prosecutors never secured an indictment and they dropped the probe in 2020.
In 2018, he was fired by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions just 26 hours before his retirement. McCabe, who is now a CNN contributor, got his pension back as part of a wrongful termination lawsuit he settled with the Biden-era DOJ in 2021.
“There was weaponization in the first Trump administration, and they’ve taken it to a whole new level in the second administration,” Bromwich said.
The Justice Department said claims submitted to the fund will be diligently reviewed by a five-member commission that will be picked by Blanche and can be fired by Trump. Multiple lawsuits have already been filed to try to shut down the fund.
Former DOJ prosecutors
Last year, the Trump administration fired and demoted dozens of DOJ officials involved in the January 6, 2021, probe, as well as special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation, which led to two federal indictments against Trump that were both dismissed before he took office in 2024.
Many of these career civil servants felt politically targeted by Trump. An ex-DOJ prosecutor who handled January 6 cases told CNN their group chats are buzzing with colleagues debating whether to file claims with the fund.
The ex-prosecutor said the former officials “view filing claims as a form of protest, like a way to challenge what they see as a partisan and corrupt system from within,” while others think participating in the process “risks legitimizing” the fund and “a fundamentally corrupt system doesn’t deserve that validation.”
Even former FBI Director James Comey says he might get in on the action. Trump has feuded with Comey ever since Comey oversaw the early Russia probe, leading to his 2017 firing.
“It’s to compensate people who’ve been targeted by the Justice Department for, they say, personal, political, or ideological reasons,” Comey told CNN’s Jake Tapper last week. “So, I’m guessing I’ll be in line. … It certainly sounds intended for someone like me.”
The Justice Department indicted Comey last year on charges of lying to Congress, but a judge quickly threw out the case. Prosecutors brought new charges this year, alleging that a photo he posted on social media was a threat against Trump, which Comey denies.
Democratic lawmakers
Some Democratic lawmakers are debating if they should try to seek money from the fund, given that DOJ said in a memo, that “there is no partisan restriction: Democrats can submit claims, too.”
But some Democrats don’t want to take taxpayer dollars from something they don’t believe should exist in the first place.
The six Democrats who posted a video urging service members and intelligence officials to disobey any illegal orders from the Trump administration have discussed whether to apply, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The video, which outraged the Trump administration, warned that “threats to our Constitution” are coming “from right here at home,” and repeatedly urged members of the military and intelligence community to “refuse illegal orders.”
The Justice Department tried to bring charges against the half-dozen members of Congress, who previously served in the military or intelligence community: Sens. Elissa Slotkin and Mark Kelly, and Reps. Jason Crow, Maggie Goodlander, Chris Deluzio and Chrissy Houlahan. But a federal grand jury declined to indict them.
Crow generally described the fund to CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Thursday as a “slush fund to send a message to anyone who is willing to kowtow or kiss Donald Trump’s ring.”
CNN has reached out to the offices of all six lawmakers for comment. A Kelly spokesman said the Arizona senator won’t be applying because he “wants to see Trump’s January 6th slush fund stopped.”
Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver, who was charged with assaulting federal agents during a visit last spring to an immigration detention center in New Jersey, has racked up legal bills estimated to cost a million dollars as she fights to defend herself, according to members of her team.
When asked for her views on the fund, McIver said in a statement to CNN, “They are so close to getting it: using the endless power of the DOJ to target innocent people is always wrong — but it is Donald Trump’s administration who is doing the targeting.”
“Instead of throwing cash at Trump’s buddies who try to defraud Americans or to the folks who stormed the Capitol, this administration should consider calling off the targeting and intimidation that their own weaponized DOJ partakes in every day,” McIver added.
Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff, who has been under federal investigation over allegations of mortgage fraud probe, told reporters earlier this week that he has no interest in applying to the fund, even though he said, in theory, he could qualify. (He denies criminal wrongdoing.)
“In theory, I suppose,” Schiff said when asked if he would qualify for payments. “But I want nothing to do with that sham, except for shutting it down.”
Journalists and Trump critics
Former CNN anchor Jim Acosta said he thinks he could qualify for the new DOJ fund.
He raised a 2018 incident where the Trump White House revoked his press pass. CNN sued, and a Trump-appointed judge ruled it was likely that Acosta’s “due process rights were violated” by the administration. The judge ordered White House officials to restore Acosta’s pass.
“Shouldn’t I be compensated?” Acosta quipped in a Substack post.
A popular podcaster who chronicled the Trump-Russia probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller said she sent a letter to the DOJ requesting $8.6 million. In the letter, Allison Gill, who worked at the Department of Veterans Affairs, claimed she faced an administrative investigation into her podcast “for political and ideological reasons.”
Scott Stedman, an independent journalist and Trump critic, sent a letter to Blanche asking for $2.7 million. He said he was smeared by a former Trump administration official who posted his private communications online.
“The money will be used to fund investigative reporting into corruption and abuses of power,” Stedman wrote in the letter, which was reviewed by CNN.
This story has been updated with additional details.
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CNN’s Camila DeChalus contributed to this report.
