Washington, D.C. – Former FBI Director James Comey joked Monday that he may qualify for the Trump administration’s newly announced $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” compensation fund, created to assist people who claim they were unfairly targeted by the federal government.
Speaking with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Comey said he initially believed reports about the Department of Justice fund were satire “from The Onion” because it sounded too unbelievable to be real. He sarcastically suggested he should be “in line” for compensation ahead of individuals convicted in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
Comey, a longtime political adversary of President Donald Trump, faces legal scrutiny himself after being indicted last month over a social media post prosecutors alleged threatened the president. Comey has dismissed the allegations and continued joking publicly about whether he qualifies under the new DOJ policy.
The fund was established as part of a settlement resolving Trump’s now-withdrawn $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the leaking of his tax records. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the program is intended to help victims of “lawfare and weaponization” seek redress for politically motivated investigations or prosecutions.
Democratic lawmakers sharply criticized the settlement and compensation fund, calling it a potential political “slush fund” that could reward Trump allies while raising serious ethics concerns about the administration overseeing litigation involving itself.
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