Former Vice President Mike Pence called on the Trump administration to “get rid of” a newly created fund to compensate individuals victimized by government weaponization during the Biden administration.
Mr. Pence appeared on Sunday talk shows to promote his new memoir, “What Conservatives Believe: Rediscovering the Conservative Conscience.” He said he’s “seen evidence” that the White House is “whitewashing” the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
“There’s clearly been an effort by some to rewrite that history,” Mr. Pence said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “But I don’t expect it to work.”
Mr. Pence said the nearly $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund, created as part of a settlement agreement between President Trump and the IRS, is “a bad idea from the start” and could be used to pay violent rioters.
“Let’s get rid of this fund,” Mr. Pence said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “It’s deeply offensive to me that you could have a fund that could even possibly compensate people who assaulted police officers or vandalized the Capitol on January 6th. And I think that’s broadly held by most Republicans and most Americans.”
Mr. Trump agreed to drop his $10 billion lawsuit over the IRS’ leak of his tax returns in exchange for the Department of Justice creating the $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund.
Among those who claim to have been victimized by the Biden Justice Department are individuals convicted in the Capitol riot. Some received lengthy prison sentences despite claims of having committed no violent acts while inside the Capitol.
Mr. Pence said the Justice Department doesn’t need “a slush fund” to settle cases because it can use its existing authority.
In April, pro-life activist Mark Houck won a $1 million settlement from the Justice Department over its prosecution of him following his involvement in a scuffle outside a Philadelphia Planned Parenthood clinic.
Mr. Pence, during the “Face the Nation” interview, called the fund “totally unacceptable” and said he hopes the administration “would drop the idea entirely.”
He also criticized the administration’s handling of those convicted of violence related to the Jan. 6 riot, which caused millions of dollars in damages to the Capitol and led to dozens of injuries and the shooting death of protester Ashli Babbitt.
In April, the Justice Department moved to dismiss the seditious conspiracy convictions of several members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers who were sentenced to prison terms for instigating the riot.
Mr. Pence broke with Mr. Trump on Jan. 6, defying the president’s order to block the certification of President Joseph R. Biden’s victory.
“Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution…,” Mr. Trump posted on Twitter as the riot was underway.
Some rioters threatened violence against Mr. Pence, requiring the Secret Service to rush him out of the Capitol.
Mr. Pence and Mr. Trump mostly stopped speaking to each other after that day, and Mr. Trump dropped him as his 2024 vice-presidential pick in favor of then-Sen. J.D. Vance.
“I’ll never minimize what happened on January 6 and I’ll always believe, by God’s grace, we did our duty that day to the seat of the peaceful transfer of power under the Constitution,” Mr. Pence told “Face the Nation.”
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