CNN commentator Scott Jennings has expressed reservations about a new initiative from the administration, which some critics are labeling a $1.7 billion “slush fund.”
During Monday’s episode of Newsnight, Jennings voiced his concerns over the $1.7 billion “Truth and Justice Commission,” proposed by former President Donald Trump, saying it made him feel “a little uncomfortable.”
Earlier that same day, the administration confirmed that the fund is intended to provide compensation to alleged victims of the Justice Department under President Joe Biden.
Officials revealed that a commission, selected by Trump, will be responsible for determining the distribution of the payouts.
Despite being a strong supporter of Trump, Jennings criticized the initiative for bypassing Congressional approval.
“I don’t want to see a president handpicking individuals for payments, as it raises the risk of favoritism towards political allies,” Jennings remarked.
The conservative then conceded that Americans are likely ‘unfairly targeted by the federal government… all the time.’
Scott Jennings, on Monday’s Newsnight, said the concept behind Donald Trump’s $1.7billion ‘Truth and Justice Commission’ made him ‘a little uncomfortable’.
Donald Trump’s White House announced the potential payouts meant to compensate alleged victims of the Joe Biden Justice Department on Monday
‘And I think people ought to be able to seek some sort of damages if they’ve been unfairly targeted by the department or by the federal government,’ Jennings continued, to a grin from anti-Trump panelist Ana Navarro.
‘My personal view is anybody who committed documented violence against the government or against police officers, you know, they’ve not been unfairly treated,’ he added, in reference to prospective payouts for those who participated in the January 6 insurrection.
‘They ended up being convicted of a crime because of the violence they committed, I got no real sympathy for them,’ Jennings explained.
‘If there were people who were on the periphery that were swept up, over-prosecuted, whatever, and they have a way to seek recourse here, I have less of a problem with that.’
He said the crucial difference between the such parties was ‘violence.’
‘If you’ve committed political violence, if you attack the government building, if you attack police officers, I got no sympathy’, Jennings said.
A ‘slush’ fund, meanwhile, refers to an account used for or secured by illicit activities. Democrats labeled the ‘Truth and Justice Commission’ fund as such when it was revealed to the public on Monday.
ABC News reported it was set up in exchange for President Trump dropping a $10billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over a leak of his tax returns.
Outspoken Trump critic Ana Navarro smirked through Jennings remarks, which were a rare instance of him distancing himself from the president
The Treasury Department failed to prevent a former IRS employee from leaking Trump’s tax returns in 2019 and 2020, prosecutors found.
The lawsuit, after years in limbo was withdrawn on Monday.
A source billed the fund set up in place as a bid to compensate those who have been ‘wrongly targeted by the weaponization of Biden’s DOJ in a Monday report from CNN.
Trump, his business, and son Eric Trump will also receive a formal apology as part of the agreement.
The fund will also cease operations ‘no later than December 15, 2028.’
Trump’s lawsuit was also unique – and controversial – in that it was allowed to proceed with Trump acting as the plaintiff while also being directly in charge of the defendants, the IRS and Treasury.
When asked about the fund on Tuesday, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended it by citing a tribal fund created under the Obama administration as precedent.
He also argued that the weaponization of the Justice Department under ‘the Biden administration was so disgusting.’
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the fund’s concept on Tuesday before a Senate subcommittee, by citing a tribal fund created under the Obama administration as precedent.
‘That’s not for me to set, that’s for the commissioners, and whether an individual, an Oath Keeper, as you just mentioned, applies for compensation – anybody in this country can apply,’ he told Democrat Chris Coons
The remarks were offered before a Senate subcommittee gathered to peruse the Justice Department’s proposed 2027 budget on Capitol Hill.
Blanche would not say whether those convicted of attacking officers on January 6, 2021, would be eligible for any compensation.
‘I am not committing to anything beyond the settlement agreement itself,’ he added when asked if he would commit that none of the sum would go to Trump campaign donors.
‘Blanche said donors would ‘not excluded from seeking compensation if they are recognized’ as a qualifying candidate.
