Ally of DOJ pardon attorney seeks to join board of Trump's $1.7+ billion fund

A Republican lawyer and adjacent state of Ed Martin, the U.S. pardon attorney, has submitted a petition to the Justice Department to articulation a sheet that volition dispense over $1.7 billion to people who assertion they were victims of ineligible "weaponization," according to a missive obtained by CBS News. 

On Wednesday evening, lawyer Mike Howell said successful a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche that helium wished to "declare my candidacy for 1 of the 5 subordinate positions connected the anti-weaponization fund." 

Blanche is liable for appointing the members of the committee overseeing the fund, according to a memo helium signed this week. The money was announced Monday arsenic portion of the DOJ's settlement of a $10 cardinal suit that President Trump filed earlier this twelvemonth against the Internal Revenue Service for the leak of his taxation returns.

"I person testified earlier the House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and person appeared connected nationalist tv and vigor to laic retired the cases of mean Americans targeted by national instrumentality enforcement for their governmental views, their faith, and their workout of constitutionally protected rights," Howell wrote successful the exertion missive — adding that helium has "written, sued, defended, and advocated each azygous time to this end" and is "not readying connected stopping immoderate clip soon."

If Howell is chosen, it would spot him successful a almighty presumption to oversee payments to radical who taxable claims to the fund, which the DOJ said volition run done the extremity of 2028. 

Howell is simply a adjacent state of Martin, the pardon lawyer astatine the Justice Department who advocated for Mr. Trump's pardons oregon commutations for more than 1,500 people who were charged oregon convicted for their relation successful the Capitol riot connected Jan. 6, 2021. 

From extracurricular the government, Howell ran Martin's Senate confirmation process to beryllium U.S. lawyer for D.C., a occupation Martin held connected an interim ground but failed to unafraid full-time. 

Howell, who is based successful Washington, D.C., is the president of a blimpish radical called the Oversight Project that investigates alleged weaponization of government. He is besides a visiting chap successful the borderline information and migration halfway astatine the Heritage Foundation.

"The anti-weaponization money is simply a historical measurement by President Trump and Acting Attorney General Blanche," Howell said successful a connection to CBS News, adding that helium is acceptable "to marque definite it is simply a success."

The Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment. 

Howell's missive is the archetypal known petition to the DOJ to service connected the commission. CNN archetypal reported connected Tuesday that the archetypal petition for compensation was made by Michael Caputo, a erstwhile Trump advisor and medication official. Caputo asked for $2.7 cardinal successful "restitution and reimbursement," arguing helium was targeted by the FBI's probe into Russian interference successful the 2016 election.

The fund's announcement appears to beryllium the latest measurement Mr. Trump has taken to transportation retired retribution for his supporters — opening with the president's clemency for Jan. 6 defendants. There is simply a escaped criteria outlined successful the DOJ's colony statement for who whitethorn use to person immoderate of the implicit $1.7 billion, which said the committee would see the "totality of the circumstances." 

The DOJ said successful a property merchandise astir the money that determination are "no partisan requirements to record a claim," though Capitol riot defendants and different MAGA allies are already considering applying for relief, CBS News reported this week.

In his missive to Blanche, Howell said that, if selected for the panel, "one of my precise archetypal actions volition beryllium organizing a nationalist gathering of the thousands of victims of weaponization, held successful Washington, D.C."

"These victims volition see those who had to wage ineligible fees due to the fact that of their enactment for President Trump, those who were sent to prison, including those progressive with January 6th, 2021," the missive read. "At this gathering, victims volition beryllium offered the clip and abstraction to stock their stories."

In:

• United States Department of Justice