Months before the Justice Department announced its $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund," Trump ally Ed Martin privately predicted that January 6 defendants would eventually receive millions of dollars in compensation, according to an NBC News report.
Martin, then leading the Justice Department's "weaponization" working group, told Republican operative Norm Coleman that the administration would eventually distribute millions of dollars to people charged and later pardoned in connection with the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, according to two people cited by the outlet.
Martin estimated the amount could reach roughly $40 million, as NBC News points out. The fund announced by the Justice Department on Monday totaled nearly $1.8 billion.
The fund was formally unveiled as part of a settlement tied to a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump, his sons and the Trump Organization against the IRS over leaked tax returns. In exchange for dropping the claims, the Justice Department created a mechanism allowing individuals who say they were victims of "weaponization and lawfare" to seek monetary compensation or formal apologies.
Martin, a longtime advocate for January 6 defendants, has remained influential inside the administration despite being removed in February from leadership of the Justice Department's "weaponization" working group. He currently serves as U.S. pardon attorney.
Martin previously defended the idea of compensating January 6 defendants. In a an interview in May of last year, cited by NBC, he said: "You're damn right I want to pay J6ers. If you got wronged by the government, then you should be made right."
Trump defended the initiative publicly this week, saying the people prosecuted after the Capitol attack were "horribly treated" and that many had gone bankrupt or faced legal costs because of what he described as government "weaponization."
The fund will be overseen by a five-member commission appointed by Attorney General Todd Blanche. Blanche told lawmakers that anyone claiming to have been targeted unfairly by the government could apply, though applications would be reviewed individually and compensation would not be automatic.
The announcement has triggered criticism from Democrats and legal advocacy groups, who argue the fund could disproportionately benefit Trump allies and January 6 participants with limited external oversight. Some Republicans have also questioned the initiative including Senate Majority Leader John Thune who told reporters he was "not a big fan" of the fund and said he did not "see a purpose for that."
