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Democrats are outraged again. This time, it is because the Department of Justice has set up a $1.8 billion fund to compensate victims of the weaponization of the federal government as part of President Donald Trump’s settlement with the IRS over his own targeting by the agency.
This might mark the first time that the Democrats have ever sided with the government over alleged criminals, who they regularly coddle like swaddled babes. Obviously, it is only because we are talking about Republicans, not illegal immigrants.
There is no better example than Michael Caputo, former spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services in the first Trump administration, whose life was shattered by the fruitless and politically driven Russia collusion investigations.
Starting in 2017, after Trump’s victory over Hillary Clinton, Caputo and others were targeted by the DOJ and eventually the Robert Mueller investigation for little reason other than their connection to Trump.
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Caputo and his family were crushed by legal fees, constant legal appearances and serious reputational damage, and in retrospect, given the lack of evidence of Russian collusion at best, and the manufacture of it, at worst, the process sure looks like the punishment.
“Our family was caught totally by surprise in March 2017 and from House to Senate to Mueller interrogations, each of my daughters was torn apart differently,” Caputo told me. “My wife, our rock, held it all together until she couldn’t. When my cancer hit, everything exploded. The death threats and drive-bys started coming in fast. Then, total collapse.”
Yes, I forgot to mention that Caputo was suffering from cancer throughout this ordeal.
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The funny thing is, as a general rule, Democrats love to come to the defense, not just of people accused of crimes, but often those convicted of them.
Liberals were thrilled when the Central Park Five received a $41 million settlement for being wrongly accused, and cheered when George Floyd’s family got $27 million from Minneapolis for his death.
And it wasn’t just Floyd’s family. Black Lives Matter rioters arrested in New York City in 2020 got a cool $13.7 million from the NYPD in a settlement. And how about the child rapist in Idaho awarded $2.5 million for a trans surgery after it was ruled his rights had been violated?
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The point is that obviously prosecutors can and do cross the line from making honest mistakes in investigations to targeting people for illegitimate reasons such as politics, and the abusive lawfare exercised against Caputo and others in the Trump orbit more than qualifies.
When figures like former FBI officials and star-crossed lovers Peter Strzok and Lisa Page set out to destroy Trump and his allies, as made clear in their now infamous text messages, it was demonstrably a violation of their victims’ civil rights.
If we were talking about literally anyone other than Trump supporters, Bruce Springsteen would be doing a benefit concert for the targets of such civil rights abuses.
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Well, President Trump may not be the Boss of rock and roll, but he is the boss of the DOJ and Caputo is grateful.
“Across eight years of constant surveillance, our family never lost faith in President Trump and his team,” he told me. “We knew better, and my girls especially love and trust the first lady. As a campaign policy advisor, I knew how many years of thought and expertise went into developing his anti-weaponization policy. Still, the fund announcement Monday came as a surprise and gave my girls a heckuva shot of hope.”
Breathless Democrats express horror that someone who was violent during the January 6 Capitol riot may wind up with a settlement, but that is exactly how it is supposed to work. Just because someone commits a crime, it doesn’t mean they have no civil rights.
As Vice President JD Vance made clear this week from the White House press room, decisions about who receives compensation from the anti-weaponization fund will be on a case-by-case basis, as it should be.
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There may be close calls, such as those who caused mayhem on January 6, but Caputo, and many others like him, are not a close call. They are slam dunks.
Ultimately, it is not just that Caputo deserves compensation for his mistreatment at the hands of the government. It is that the government must be taught that this may never happen again. This new fund is a big step in that direction.
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