“Well, it’s been very well received….”

Todd Blanche on the J6er slush fund: "By the way, it is true that this is unusual. But it is not unprecedented. It's not limited to Republicans. There's no limitation on the claims." pic.twitter.com/BFmZVXis4n

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 19, 2026

VAN HOLLEN: Will individuals who assaulted Capitol Hill police officers be eligible for this fund?

BLANCHE: Anybody in this country is eligible to apply if they believe they are a victim of weaponization pic.twitter.com/C1g2RnChvu

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 19, 2026

So, this guy...

VAN HOLLEN: An individual who was pardoned by Trump went on to molest two children, and he tried to buy their silence by saying he would give them funds from your slush fund. Can you commit to not making that person eligible for a payout?

BLANCHE: You're obviously lying in your… pic.twitter.com/sDN6F7KeRT

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 19, 2026

VAN HOLLEN: An individual who was pardoned by Trump went on to molest two children, and he tried to buy their silence by saying he would give them funds from your slush fund. Can you commit to not making that person eligible for a payout?

BLANCHE: You're obviously lying in your question

VAN HOLLEN: I am reporting what he said

...but not his victims? 

NPR: "Police reported that Johnson, 45, tried to keep the children quiet by telling them he would share millions of dollars in restitution money he expected to receive from the Trump administration in connection with his Jan. 6 case." https://t.co/CZZEDN7pby https://t.co/4hyG97vdAc

— Emma Vigeland (@EmmaVigeland) May 19, 2026

That was reported two weeks ago. Raising the question:  how did Johnson know?

Rest assured, the process will be fair, impartial, and transparent. Said no one, ever.

Van Hollen: Will individuals who assaulted Capitol Hill police officers be eligible for this fund?

Blanche: Anybody in this country is eligible to apply.

Van Hollen: Are there going to be rules that say that if you've assaulted a Capitol Hill police officer or committed a… pic.twitter.com/6Zetl6YxOq

— Acyn (@Acyn) May 19, 2026

Van Hollen: Will individuals who assaulted Capitol Hill police officers be eligible for this fund?

Blanche: Anybody in this country is eligible to apply.

Van Hollen: Are there going to be rules that say that if you've assaulted a Capitol Hill police officer or committed a violent crime, you will not be eligible?

Blanche: I'm not one of the commissioners

Van Hollen: You’re appointing the members!

Although it is, already, clear as crystal.

COONS: Will you commit to making reports fully public so Americans know who is getting taxpayer dollars out of this settlement fund?

BLANCHE: There are privacy laws that may prevent some of the information from being fully public pic.twitter.com/DSAcLylErA

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 19, 2026

And if there aren’t, we’ll pretend there are. We’re the Department of Justice, bitches!

COONS: Will you commit that none of President Trump's family will receive a direct payout from this fund?

BLANCHE: Yes, but ... pic.twitter.com/UzxtWeymIC

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 19, 2026

But the committee makes the decisions. Right?

This is Trump confirming that the committee chosen by Trump and Blanche will be giving money to him and his family: https://t.co/Ku3ZmtUKpY

— Jesse Lee (@JesseCharlesLee) May 19, 2026

What could go wrong? The committee will clearly be impartial and will act without fear or favor. Just like the Senate Parliamentarian Trump wants fired.

BLANCHE: There's a lot of things that President Trump is the first of. No president had been indicted 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 times either

COONS: Correct. No president has been indicted pic.twitter.com/Jz3ov1M0Ey

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 19, 2026

And it just gets better:

Blanche says that Trump's campaign donors are eligible for payouts from the J6 taxpayer slush fund pic.twitter.com/6HVweooYuM

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 19, 2026

I don’t know the technical details of what got Trump, et al., into court on the first settlement, but I continue to expect the same circumstances still apply. Which means the judge is acting on the court’s authority to question the validity of this suit (there is no opposing party), and is going to be VERY interested in this testimony. Because I can’t imagine what legal claim Trump donors have to this proposed settlement fund.

This is false from Todd Blanche—he has not met with Epstein survivors, and the DOJ has not had an open door policy to lawyers for the survivors. https://t.co/lze0HCJGnc

— Aaron Parnas (@AaronParnas) May 19, 2026

Well, that explains this question:

Van Hollen to Blanche: Do you know that it is a criminal offense to lie to Congress? pic.twitter.com/PbAgkCAz5I

— Acyn (@Acyn) May 19, 2026

Regardless, the idea is being very well received:

News: Senate GOP Leader John Thune criticizes Trump’s proposed “weaponization” fund

“Not a big fan. And I’m not sure exactly how they intend to use it,” Thune says, adding: “I don’t see a purpose for that.”

— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) May 19, 2026

"and then I added a Baskin Robbins and there's a slide that takes me down into a ball pit where there's gonna be laser tag, and then a full-size arcade with Street Fighter 2 Turbo and if bad guys come the whole thing can submerge and guns come out with heat-seeking missiles" https://t.co/rm1IIDYJi3

— The okayest poster there is (@ok_post_guy) May 19, 2026

That’s pretty much what’s going on while this has been going on.