Pence calls Trump's 'anti-weaponisation' fund 'deeply offensive' and says it should be dropped

Former US Vice-President Mike Pence has sharply criticised the Trump administration's $1.8bn (£1.3bn) fund to compensate people alleging unfair treatment under previous administrations.

The Trump administration announced what it called an "anti-weaponisation fund" earlier this month for "victims of lawfare" to seek compensation.

But Pence, who was Donald Trump's first vice-president, said it was a "bad idea from the start" and should be dropped.

Many Trump supporters who were prosecuted over the US Capitol riot on 6 January 2021 have said they plan to seek compensation.

Pence, who was in the US Capitol at the time and whom rioters threatened with violence, told NBC the fund was "deeply offensive".

Pence was rushed into hiding at the Capitol as it was stormed by hundreds of people falsely calling the 2020 election "stolen". After the building was cleared, the former vice-president presided over the certification of Joe Biden's victory.

Nearly 1,600 people were charged with crimes associated with the riot, including about 175 charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer, according to Department of Justice (DoJ) figures.

Pence was asked by NBC News in an interview broadcast on Sunday about the fund potentially compensating rioters prosecuted for their role in the attack.

"It's deeply offensive to me that you could have a fund that could even possibly compensate people who assaulted police officers or vandalised the Capitol on January 6," Pence said. "I think that's broadly held by most Republicans and most Americans."

The DoJ set up the fund as part of a settlement with President Trump over a lawsuit he filed against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) after his tax records were leaked. The president dropped the suit in exchange for an apology and the fund.

Trump issued a blanket pardon for defendants involved in the riot on his first day back in office, including individuals who had pleaded guilty to assaulting police officers. Roughly 140 officers were injured.

Both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, some of whom were forced into hiding on 6 January as rioters ransacked their offices, have pressed acting Attorney General Todd Blanche for more details about who could benefit from the fund.

On Friday, a federal judge temporarily blocked the fund from being created until a hearing on 12 June.

In response, a justice department spokesperson said officials were "extremely confident in the legality of the anti-weaponisation fund which is supported by ample precedent".

"We will not allow the policy preferences of judges to interfere with our efforts to provide restitution to victims of lawfare."

Eligibility for the fund, on its face, seems broad. In a memo sent to sceptical Republican US senators, Blanche justified the $1.8bn sum because "literally tens of millions of Americans were subjected to improper and unlawful government targeting".

He also noted "there is no partisan restriction - Democrats can submit claims too".

But the fund has drawn criticism from both Democrats and Republicans.

John Thune, the Republican leader in the Senate, said he was not a "big fan". Former Senate leader Mitch McConnell called it "utterly stupid". North Carolina Republican Senator Thom Tillis called it "stupid on stilts".

Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, a Pennsylvania Republican, has said he was planning to introduce legislation that would effectively kill the fund.

Some Republicans, however, support the idea.

Senator Tommy Tuberville of Alabama claimed "hundreds" of "innocent patriotic Americans sat behind bars for the past five years over this made-up witch hunt" as a result of the 6 January investigations and prosecutions.