Activist Collects 7 Figures From DOJ Outside of Fund

Even as senators pressed Todd Blanche on the status of the Trump administration's $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund," an anti-abortion activist pardoned by President Trump acknowledged that he has collected a seven-figure settlement from the Justice Department. The payment illustrates how allies like Paul Vaughn, whom the attorney general nominee has called of a victim of Biden administration weaponization, can receive payouts regardless of whether the fund is formally in place, the New York Times reports.

Lawyers for Vaughn, who was convicted of blocking access to a Tennessee abortion clinic, disclosed the seven-figure settlement from the Justice Department. At the time of his conviction, the department touted its work in holding him accountable. Blanche first championed the "victims of lawfare" fund, then publicly backed away, though he has declined to say under oath that the fund is dead. Others who have received checks for a million dollars or so since Trump retook office include Michael Flynn, Mark Houck, and Carter Page, per MS Now. The family of Ashli Babbitt, who was shot to death by a police officer during the 2021 attack on the Capitol, has received about $5 million.