Hunter Biden can apply for new weaponization money — but Trump can’t

President Trump cannot collect any of the money from the new $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund — but Hunter Biden, son of the former president, could.

Those who intruded on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, can apply as well. So could Tina Peters, a Colorado county clerk investigated by the FBI for breaching her county’s voting systems to try to prove fraud in the 2020 election.

Top Trump officials said Tuesday that the money is open to anyone who can prove victimization by the overzealous behavior of former President Joseph R. Biden’s administration.

Vice President J.D. Vance and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the fund is part of a broader effort to draw a line around the Biden era and say its pursuit of political opponents, through the legal system, must never be repeated, and the money is a way to compensate those who were victimized.

“Whether you’re Hunter Biden or whether you’re another individual who believed they were a victim of weaponization, they can all apply,” Mr. Blanche told senators.

The fund was created as part of a settlement between Mr. Trump and the IRS, which he oversees as president.

Mr. Trump agreed to drop a $10 billion lawsuit over the IRS’ leak of his private tax information, and the government set up the fund to help others.

As part of the deal, Mr. Trump, his sons and the Trump Organization, all parties to the lawsuit, agreed to accept an apology but will not be able to get any of the money from the fund.

“Is a dollar of this money going to the Trump administration? No. Is a dollar of this money going to President Trump personally? No. Is a dollar of this money going to President Trump’s family? No,” Mr. Vance told reporters at the White House.

He said it’s too early to say whether money would go to those who took part in the Jan. 6 protest, but he said they have the right to apply — and in some cases could have good claims.

He said the goal isn’t to reward those who assaulted police officers, but to make up for an overzealous DOJ, even in cases where someone “did something bad.”

Mr. Vance said the left-wing legal academy and a plethora of nonprofit groups regularly challenge punishments for convicts, arguing that the Jan. 6 sentences were too harsh for the crimes.

“You know who never, ever gets an ounce of sympathy when it comes to that disproportionate sentencing is people who voted for Donald Trump and participated in the Jan. 6 protesting,” Mr. Vance said.

Democrats fumed over the fund, saying the president was bilking taxpayers for his own purposes.

“President Trump is literally using their tax dollars to set up a slush fund to enrich his own friends,” said Sen. Patty Murray, Washington Democrat.

Mr. Blanche, a former personal lawyer for Mr. Trump, said the fact that Democrats believed an anti-weaponization effort would benefit the president’s allies was telling.

“It proves the point that President Trump has been saying for a very long time, which happens to be true, which is for the first time in our nation’s history you had an administration [Mr. Biden’s] seek to destroy the previous administration [Mr. Trump’s],” he told senators.

Mr. Blanche said that included calling the president’s gardener to testify to a grand jury. It also included the Justice Department sneaking a peek at the phone records of some members of Congress.

The acting attorney general said the government has created similar funds in the past, but acknowledged Mr. Trump’s case was unprecedented.

He said that was the result of the unprecedented efforts made by the previous administration, and he said the fund is one way to try to prevent a repeat in future administrations.

“This legal system was not set up to compensate for what the Democrats and Biden and what [former Attorney General Merrick] Garland did for four years,” Mr. Blanche said.

“This is about compensating Americans for the lawfare that we saw under the previous administration,” Mr. Vance said.

While nearly anyone can apply, Mr. Blanche said decisions about who gets apologies or payouts will be up to a five-member commission that will administer the fund.

The attorney general will appoint all of those members, though one of the appointments must be done after consultation with Congress.

The acting DOJ chief said he will get a quarterly report on the fund’s activities and he will make that public, though some of the information about specific claimants may have to be withheld under privacy laws.

He specifically ruled out Mr. Trump getting money, but said just about anyone else is fair game.

“It’s not limited to Republicans, it’s not limited to the Biden weaponization, it’s not limited in any way, scope or form to Jan. 6 or Jack Smith,” he said, referring to the Biden administration special counsel who pursued criminal charges against Mr. Trump.

Mr. Vance singled out Tina Peters, the Colorado clerk, as potentially worthy. She was given a nine-year sentence in state court, but was investigated by the FBI for facilitating unauthorized access to Mesa County’s election systems as part of a pro-Trump effort to prove fraud in the 2020 election.

“Was that fair? No. Is it reasonable for her to get some compensation for the fact that she was treated unfairly? I think the answer is yes,” Mr. Vance said.

Ms. Peters’ sentence was commuted by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, earlier this month, and she’ll be freed June 1.

Congressional Democrats demanded that Mr. Blanche find some outside party to sign off on the fund. In particular, they want a federal judge who oversaw the case to give it a look.

But the judge dismissed the case late Monday, and Mr. Blanche said there is no other outside authority to turn to.