A man sentenced to life in prison for sexually abusing two middle-school-aged children could end up benefiting from President Donald Trump’s massive slush fund.
Andrew Paul Johnson was sentenced earlier this year, just months after being pardoned by Trump for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
Under Trump’s $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” beneficiaries could include Jan. 6 rioters. Johnson allegedly told the kids he abused that he would share millions of dollars in restitution money that he expected from the Trump administration for his Jan. 6 case.
“He said not to tell anybody,” one of Johnson’s victims testified.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche will help oversee who gets the money. And at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee Tuesday, Blanche said recipients could include rioters convicted of assaulting law enforcement.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) asked Blanche if that would also include Johnson.
“That person actually tried to buy the silence of these children by saying that he would pay them some of the funds he was hoping to get from your slush fund,” Van Hollen said. “Can you commit to not making that person eligible for a payout under this fund?”
Blanche would not confirm if Johnson would receive money.
“You are obviously lying in your question, because there’s no way this person committed to that,” Blanche said.