1776: The Fund is the Foundation

<p>The pardons were the headline. The $1.776 billion is the foundation.

This week DOJ stood up an “Anti-Weaponization Fund” — paid from the Treasury, never passed by Congress — and won’t rule out cutting checks to the people convicted of attacking the Capitol. Joshua goes solo to trace the mechanism: how a government reclassifies the people who attacked it as victims, then pays them, while purging the prosecutors who built the cases. We’ve run this play before — after the Civil War. Sources and full transcript below.</p>

<p>The fund itself — announcement, mechanics, $1.776B / Judgment Fund / Dec. 2028 sunset / five-member commission:

U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs — “Justice Department Announces Anti-Weaponization Fund” (primary source): <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-anti-weaponization-fund">https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-anti-weaponization-fund</a>

TIME, “What to Know About the DOJ’s New ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’”: <a href="https://time.com/article/2026/05/18/trump-doj-anti-weaponization-fund-irs-lawsuit-settlement/">https://time.com/article/2026/05/18/trump-doj-anti-weaponization-fund-irs-lawsuit-settlement/</a>

PBS NewsHour: <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/justice-department-announces-a-1-7-billion-anti-weaponization-fund-fund-to-compensate-trump-allies">https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/justice-department-announces-a-1-7-billion-anti-weaponization-fund-fund-to-compensate-trump-allies</a>

The Hill (Blanche “machinery of government” quote; Stacey Young / Justice Connection): <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5883454-doj-launches-anti-weaponization-fund/">https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5883454-doj-launches-anti-weaponization-fund/</a>

The IRS lawsuit settlement, Judge Williams “stripped of jurisdiction,” 93 House Democrats, Treasury GC resignation:

ABC News: <a href="https://abcnews.com/US/trump-court-filings-plans-drop-10b-lawsuit-irs/story?id=133066043">https://abcnews.com/US/trump-court-filings-plans-drop-10b-lawsuit-irs/story?id=133066043</a>

NBC News: <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-voluntarily-drops-10-billion-lawsuit-irs-leaked-tax-records-rcna345193">https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-voluntarily-drops-10-billion-lawsuit-irs-leaked-tax-records-rcna345193</a>

CBS News (Caputo $2.7M claim; “for the sole use” memo): <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/who-could-benefit-from-trumps-1-7-billion-weaponization-fund/">https://www.cbsnews.com/news/who-could-benefit-from-trumps-1-7-billion-weaponization-fund/</a>

CNBC (Senate hearing; Morrissey resignation): <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/19/trump-doj-irs-fund-blanche-payouts-jan-6-rioters.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2026/05/19/trump-doj-irs-fund-blanche-payouts-jan-6-rioters.html</a>