Is Trump now bankrolling a MAGA paramilitary?
5/21/202631 min
Donald Trump announced a $1.776bn new scheme this week labelled an 'anti-weaponisation fund' to compensate citizens who've been mistreated by the US justice system. Who could the President have in mind as in need of compensation? How about the January 6th rioters? Well they are stepping forward in their droves to state their intentions to claim millions from the IRS - and Trump seems to be cheering them on. Critics say he's using the money to keep his own private militia on retainer - are they right?
And why did Trump secure 'forever' immunity for him and his family from tax audits?
Later, in a rare act of rebellion, Republican Congressmen stripped out $1bn worth of funding for Trump's ballroom from a Bill going through the legislature that was supposed to be about immigration enforcement funding. Trump has doubled down on the ambitions for the ballroom - talking about a drone port on the roof and a military base. But will the GOP get increasingly jittery about the exorbitant costs and the gaudy nature of his White House redevelopment when there's an affordability crisis weighing on the minds of voters?
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First 90 secondsJon Sopel· Host0:00
[upbeat jingle] This is a Global Player original podcast.
Emily Maitlis· Host0:05
And how long has he been inside for?
Speaker 30:07
Uh, I'm not even sure how long he's been inside for. We're, uh, uh... He's a brother of ours in another chapter, and so we're picking him up.
Emily Maitlis· Host0:14
These were people who were right at the coal face of that revolution, and they were injuring police officers. Which is why you get people now in the Democrats, critics, who say this is essentially a slush fund for cop killers.
Speaker 40:31
This is the stuff of tinpot dictatorships, where the president gives himself a, a new armored-plated Rolls-Royce, a new uniforms for his personal guard, while everyone else is just left by the roadside.
Speaker 30:45
Mr. President.
Speaker 50:46
The Justice Department has this- Thank- ... new fund that was announced today, one point seven billion dollars.
Speaker 30:52
Yeah.
Speaker 50:52
Why should taxpayers pay for the January 6th- Well, it's been very well received, I have to tell you.
Speaker 30:59
I know very little about it. I wasn't involved in, in the whole creation of it and, uh, and the negotiation. But this is, uh, reimbursing people that were horribly treated, horribly treated. It's anti-weaponization. They've been weaponized. Uh, they've been, in some cases, imprisoned wrongly. They paid legal fees that they didn't have. They've gone bankrupt. Their lives have been destroyed, and they turn out to be right.
Emily Maitlis· Host1:23
Trump calls this a compensation fund for those who were victims of a weaponized Justice Department.