Acting AG Blanche accuses Sen. Van Hollen of lying during Jan. 6 hearing
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche accused Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., of lying under questioning after the senator said he discussed using future compensation money to ensure the silence of child sexual abuse victims of a rebel pardoned by President Donald Trump on Jan. 6.
Blanche appeared before the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday to answer questions about the Justice Department’s fiscal year 2027 budget. The hearing took place a day after the Justice Department announced the creation of a $1.776 billion fund for people who claim to be victims of the federal government’s “rule of law.”
Van Hollen, a ranking member of the committee, accused the Proliferation Fund of being a “slush fund” for Trump’s allies, raising concerns that the money would go to people accused and charged for their involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots. Trump pardoned and granted commutations to more than 1,500 people accused and convicted for their roles in the Capitol riots; among them was Andrew Paul Johnson, who was sentenced to life in prison in March 2026 for sexually abusing two minors.
APOLOGIES AND CASH WERE DIRECTED TO ‘WEARING’ VICTIMS IN THE BILLION DOLLAR TRUMP DEAL
Senator Chris Van Hollen and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche have a heated exchange over the Department of Justice’s funding for “legal fee” victims. (Photo: Jim WATSON/AFP via Getty Images) (Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images))
“This person actually tried to buy these kids’ silence by saying he would pay them some of the funds he was hoping to get from your slush fund,” Van Hollen asked Blanche. “Can you commit to making rules that make the person ineligible to receive payments under this fund?”
““You’re clearly lying in your question, because there’s no way this person could have committed to this,” Blanche said. “The slush fund, as you call it, did not exist.”
Van Hollen pointed at Blanche and warned her.
“Never do that again. I’m quoting what he said,” Van Hollen said. “He said he hoped to get some of the money without paying.”
DAS MAY TRY TO CHARGE IN JANUARY. 6 PARTICIPANTS WERE PUNISHED BY TRUMP WITH NEW CRIMES AT THE STATE AND LOCAL LEVEL
Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol in Washington DC on January 6, 2021. (Eric Lee/Getty Images)
Florida authorities reported that Johnson promised to share with his victims the money he expected to receive in compensation after being pardoned by Trump. According to an affidavit that Van Hollen read to Blanche later in the hearing, Johnson shared in a Discord message to one of his victims that “he was given $10,000,000 for being a January 6th person” and that he would ensure the victim received the money left in his “will.”
Blanche pointed out that the Anti-Proliferation Fund, or so-called “secret fund,” did not even exist when Johnson made these promises to the victims.
Ed Martin speaks at a press conference in Washington, DC, on May 13, 2025. (Craig Hudson/Washington Post)
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION
“This is the fund that the president and all of you have been telegraphing all along and that you will use to help the president’s friends,” Van Hollen said.
Ed Martin, the Justice Department’s pardon attorney, is the only known Trump administration official to publicly call for those convicted in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol riots to be compensated for the “rule of law” they faced. But Democratic senators argue that the Justice Department has taken steps to make compensation possible for the Jan. 6 defendants.
