U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper plans to force Republicans to vote on an amendment aimed at prohibiting the Trump administration from sending money to former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters and others convicted of crimes that affected elections or election equipment from a $1.8 billion fund created to compensate allies of the GOP president who believe they have been unjustly investigated and prosecuted.
The “Anti-Weaponization Fund” of $1.776 billion is part of a settlement that resolves President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns. It will allow people who believe they were targeted for prosecution for political purposes, including by the Biden administration Justice Department, to apply for payouts, creating what acting Attorney General Todd Blanche called “a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress.”
The Colorado Democrat’s amendment was to be voted on late Thursday or early Friday as the U.S. Senate was set to debate a roughly $70 billion bill brought by Republicans to restore funding to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol. But that vote appears to have been postponed until June after a two-hour meeting on Thursday between Senate Republicans and Blanche, according to the New York Times.
Tina Peters speaks during a debate for a state Republican Party leadership position sponsored by the Republican Women of Weld Feb. 25, 2023, in a pizza restaurant in Hudson, Colo. (David Zalubowski, AP Photo)Instead of trying to pass a filibuster-proof bill before a weeklong recess, Republicans appear set on tabling the matter over some members’ hesitation in backing the compensation fund.
Hickenlooper plans to introduce his amendment whenever the bill to fund immigration enforcement is taken up. The amendment targets anyone convicted of crimes related to state or federal election interference, impersonation, identity theft, official misconduct, violation of duty in elections and failure to comply with the requirements of the secretary of state, according to his office.
It’s possible, if not likely, Hickenlooper’s amendment fails, but it will force Republican senators to go on the record about the payments.
“Election deniers who break the law are not victims. They are criminals. The last thing we should do is reward these people with your taxpayer dollars,” Hickenlooper said in a written statement. “Instead of lowering costs, President Trump is creating a $1.8 billion slush fund for people like Tina Peters who tried to undermine our free and fair election system. Our amendment stops it.”
Vice President J.D. Vance this week told reporters that Peters was a prime candidate to receive money from the highly controversial fund.
Peters’ nine-year prison sentence for orchestrating a security breach of Mesa County’s election system in 2021 was cut in half last week by Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, who is facing growing backlash from his party over the move.
“The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this Department’s intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again,” Blanche said in a statement that made no mention of how investigations and prosecutions of Trump’s political opponents under his watch have exposed the Justice Department to the same claims of politicized law enforcement that he said he opposed.
Democrats have blasted the fund as being corrupt and unconstitutional.
Hickenlooper plans to vote “no” on the Department of Homeland Security funding bill. He wants an overhaul of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement before sending more money to the agency.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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