Re: “Jan. 6 rioters could qualify for payouts from $1.776B fund,” Chicago Tribune, p. 1. May 20, 2026
President Trump’s new slush fund into which American taxpayers are forced to donate money to his political allies, plumbs new depths of flagrant corruption even for this administration. As is always the case, when Trump accuses someone else of misdeeds, it is a declaration that he intends to do the exact same thing.
He claims that rioters, who on Jan. 6 at his urging destroyed U.S. Government property and attacked and killed police officers, became victims of “weaponization” when they were prosecuted for their crimes (which America witnessed in real-time on television).
If you do not understand this term, here is an example: President Trump uses his power to demand that the Attorney General requires the U.S. Treasury to give $1.776 billion to Trump’s political supporters.
Another glaring example of Trump’s weaponization of the judicial system is his attempts to prosecute James Comey, his own director of the FBI, whose “crime” was to uphold the U.S. Constitution. If Comey receives any compensation for being a victim of blatant weaponization, this slush fund would gain a whiff of legitimacy.
But no, pigs cannot fly. By supporting this grotesque travesty, Congressional Republicans have given up any pretense of being anything but lackeys and enforcers in Trump’s criminal organization.
Tom DeCoursey
Oak Park