Former FBI Director James Comey joked that he hoped to qualify for the Justice Department’s newly announced anti-weaponization fund, saying the program sounded like it was “intended for someone like me.”
Comey made the remarks during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper after being asked about the DOJ initiative.
“I first thought it was a piece from The Onion, because it can’t be serious,” Comey said. “Appears that they’re serious. It’s to compensate people who’ve been targeted by the Justice Department for, they say personal, political, or ideological reasons. So I’m guessing I’ll be in line. I hope I’ll be ahead of those who savagely beat police officers and sack the Capitol.”
When Tapper asked whether he planned to apply, Comey responded: “I’ll talk to my lawyers, but it certainly sounds intended for someone like me.”
“I don’t think that that’s how it’s intended, but I understand what you’re saying,” Tapper replied.
Comey’s comments referenced his own legal battles with the Trump administration. A longtime opponent of President Donald Trump, Comey was indicted for a second time in April over allegations that he threatened the president’s life in a since-deleted social media post.
On Monday, the DOJ announced a $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization fund” that could compensate Jan. 6 Capitol riot defendants and allies of Trump who claim they were politically targeted during the Biden administration.
The fund was established as part of a settlement resolving Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over his leaked tax records.
Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said the use of federal power “to target individuals or entities for improper and unlawful political, personal, or ideological reasons should not be tolerated by any administration.”
DOJ ANNOUNCES $1.776 BILLION ‘ANTI-WEAPONIZATION’ FUND FOR BIDEN LAWFARE VICTIMS
The move has already drawn criticism from Democrats.
“This, of course, is a political grievance fund that Donald Trump can use to pay off his friends,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said during a Sunday interview on ABC News’s This Week.