Pro-MAGA Outlet OAN ‘Seriously Considering’ Filing a Claim for a Payout from Trump’s $1.7B ‘Anti-Weaponization’ Fund: CNN

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President Donald Trump’s allies in the media are eyeing potential payouts from the massive weaponization fund created this week in a settlement between the president and his own Justice Department.

Trump’s DOJ stirred widespread controversy this week by settling the president’s lawsuit against the IRS and creating a nearly $1.8 billion fund to pay out anyone the admin finds had the government weaponized against them. Critics of the settlement have decried its unprecedented nature, a president suing and settling with his own administration, and denounced the “slush fund” as a gift to MAGA allies.

CNN’s Marshall Cohen, Holmes Lybrand, and Donie O’Sullivan took a deep dive on Wednesday into all the various MAGA-affiliated organizations and individuals who are now looking to cash in from the fund.

The report noted that January 6th rioters, 2020 election deniers and so-called fake electors, and pro-MAGA media outlets may all file claims. Among the media outlets mentioned in the report is One America News Network, OAN. A lawyer for the avowedly pro-MAGA network, Chris Babcock, told CNN the company “is seriously considering pursuing rights under this fund and will make a decision shortly about whether to file a claim.”

OAN settled lawsuits related to 2020 pro-Trump election conspiracy theories with both Dominion and Smartmatic. CNN also reached out Fox News, which settled a lawsuit with Dominion for a whopping $787 million, for comment if it would also pursue payment through the fund, but did not receive a reply.

Election conspiracy theorist and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who also owns Lindell TV, praised the fund as “looking out for these people that were attacked.” CNN also reported that Lindell “believes his company lost $400 million due to what he views as government weaponization in the aftermath of the 2020 election. He was perhaps the loudest promoter of baseless voter-fraud claims – drawing boycotts from businesses, defamation lawsuits and even FBI scrutiny.”

Vice President JD Vance was pressed during Tuesday’s White House press briefing on whether or not the fund could be used to give taxpayer dollars to rioters who violently attacked law enforcement. Vance replied by saying anyone who believes they have been aggrieved by the government can file a claim for compensation from the fund, including Hunter Biden and presumably those rioters who attacked cops.

Vance held up Tina Peters, the recently pardoned election official imprisoned for breaking into voting machines under her watch, as an example of someone who deserves reparations from the government.

“This innocent grandmother was going to spend 10 years in prison, completely disproportionate to any misdemeanor trespassing that I’ve ever seen. Was that fair? No. Is it reasonable for her to get some compensation for the fact that she was treated unfairly?” Vance said at the press briefing. Peters was notably prosecuted by a local Republican DA and kicked at the police when they tried to detain her. She was convicted by a jury on 7 counts, including 4 felonies, of charges related to election interference.

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