FINALLY: Trump gets BAD NEWS about his $1.7 billion slush fund

I'm joined now by Congressman Jamie. Raskin. Congressman, we've all heard. about Donald Trump's $1.7 billion slush. fund where he would pay out these. January 6th insurrectionists. for apparently a gift for having been. prosecuted rightfully so for their. participation in the insurrection. You. and congressional Democrats are now. taking steps to block that. Can you. explain what's happening on your end? >> Well, first of all, let's understand. what we're talking about. If you do the. math, it comes to more than a million. dollars per insurrectionist,

Oath Keeper. So, they want to take money. from the taxpayers and give it to people. who violently assaulted our police. officers and tried to overthrow a. presidential election. Congress never. appropriated a dollar for that and never. would appropriate any money for that. So, this is just a highway robbery. They're stealing money from the. government and from the taxpayers. So, we're going to be doing everything in. our power to block it. We need some. Republicans in order to come with us.

in order to legislate that no money can. be spent in that way, but we will be. asking for Republicans to take that. position. And if they don't, the whole. country and their districts will see. exactly where they are where they are, but we need. three or four of them in order to sign. the discharge petition to get it out to. block the spending of the money in this. way. And then, you know, it's a lawless. situation with the administration, a. lawless. situation with the Supreme Court, but.

there might be federal district courts. and appeals courts that are willing to. take seriously the fact that this is an. absolute violation of the appropriations. powers of Congress, and it's also a. violation of Section 4 of the 14th. Amendment, which says that no federal. dollars should be going to pay for the. debts of insurrection and rebellion. against the United States. >> that clause in the Constitution, so. important was it not to have this. happen. You know, you had mentioned that.

we need three Republicans, three or four. Republicans on board. Is there any indication that any. Republicans have an appetite for this? And I ask that especially in light of. the fact that Bill Cassidy just lost his. primary, that Thomas Massie. is may very well be on the verge of. losing his primary. And so this is kind. of a shot across the bow by Trump that. if you if you defy him even on an issue. where Republicans kind of coalesced. around. Like Thomas Massie only broke. with Trump on Epstein. So the notion.

that he's getting punished now for being. consistent on that issue is is, you. know, obviously absurd other than the. fact that really the ultimate goal has. to just be blind deference to Trump. All. of that is to say, is there any appetite. among Republicans that you know of to. really defy Trump and sign on to this. effort to block this allocation of. spending? >> Well, I mean, you saw what just happened. in Louisiana, and you see what's going. on in Kentucky. I mean, Trump comes down. like a ton of bricks on anybody who. departs 2 cm away from his absolute.

autocratic rule. But then there are also. some Republicans who've got to be. listening to independents and Democrats. Otherwise, they're not going to they. have no prayer of getting elected. Look. at Brian Fitzpatrick in Pennsylvania. And people should be saying to him now, "Will you sign on to a discharge. petition to get a bill out of the House. of Representatives to block this. outrageous, illegal, unconstitutional. expenditure of money?" And he can't get. away with saying, "Oh, there's not going. to be a bill." There will be a bill. Will you sign it or will you not? Your.

constituents want to know. Any. Republican, my friend Kevin Kyle from California, he's running as an independent now, left. the Republican Party. Will he try to do. everything in his power to block this. outrageous spending of money for. insurrectionists? So people in those. districts have got to put pressure on. them now to take the position. >> Would this create a precedent? And And I. ask this because, you know, Republicans may be in a position where. there's a Democratic president. What if.

he or she decides, 4 years from now, that, you know, why not create a $500 billion. slush fund using the Trump precedent and. fully fund Planned Parenthood from now. until the end of time, fund the NAACP, fund. every town for gun safety, fund any. pro-democracy or left-wing priority, and. use the Trump precedent? I mean, is that. what it would create? Or is it just, you. know, that that he's relying on this. idea that that his judges will defer to.

him? >> if they can get away with it, um. then that does open the door to it. He. does think that he's got the judges in. his pocket like a mob boss. But look, this is not his first slush fund. I. mean, let's be clear about it. The Board. of Peace is nothing but a global slush. fund for Donald Trump. He took $1.5. billion. from the State Department. That was. money that was set aside for disaster. relief around the world. He gave it to. the Board of Peace. He took a billion. from the Saudis. He took a billion from. the United Arab Emirates. Took a billion.

from the Qataris. I don't know how much. he's got in there now. We don't know. Is. it public? Is it private? Is it. not-for-profit? Is it profit? Is it. international? Is it We don't know. anything other than he is chairman for. life. He has decreed it. And he controls. who's going to be on the board. And with. his $1.7 billion. slush fund courtesy of the American. taxpayers, that will be run by a. committee that reports exclusively to. him for people who he feels were victims. of {quote} weaponization of the Biden. Justice Department. Well, tell you what,

if somebody thinks their rights were. violated, they can go in and sue. You. know who did that? Michael Flynn. He. lost in court, and yet the Trump DOJ DOJ. just gave him $1.2 5 million dollars. Yeah. Same thing with Carter Page. He. wasn't able to get anything. uh any satisfaction in court because. these people don't have a cause of. action. Their rights weren't violated. They weren't damaged in any way. And yet. now Trump is just giving them all the. money and it's going to be the same with. the writers and the insurrectionists and.

the oath keepers, the you know, the. proud boys and on and on and on. It's to. pay for his private militia. So they've. got some money. >> What do you make of the fact that Donald. Trump came into office pretending to be. this populist champion? He was talking. about helping the forgotten American, the little guy, talking about housing. and rents and groceries and eggs. Comes. into office, first thing he does is cut. healthcare then food assistance, raise. the cost of everything through his trade. war. Now gas is nearly the highest it's. ever been as the result of this Iran. war. No money to fix any of those things, but.

apparently there are just endless funds. for ballrooms and Qatari jets and and. renovating the Rose Garden and building. arches and redoing the reflecting pool. and now a $1.7 billion slush fund for. his insurrectionist pals. How do you. make sense of the fact that there's no. money for any of the things he actually. campaigned on, but endless sums of money. when it comes to his own pet projects? >> Because he told us last week, he said. literally, "I don't care about the. finances of the American people." He. doesn't care that people are suffering.

under his ruinous illegal tariffs, that. people are suffering with a buck 50 more. you got to pay for a gallon of gasoline. because of his illegal, unconstitutional, disastrous war in. Iran. He doesn't care. I mean, he he. barely cares about anybody outside of. his family. I'm not sure he does. I'm. not sure he cares about everybody in his. family. Uh I mean, he's an absolute narcissist. and he's driven to pillage the federal. government and that's what's going on.

The reason he wants to support his. insurrectionists is because that's his. private militia for political purposes. He knows his poll numbers are sinking. like a stone. They're absolutely. cratering. And so, all he's got is his. lingering ability to control with all he. can, with all of his might, the federal. government of the United States and his. hold on power. We've got to keep people. organizing and people engaged against. all the racist gerrymandering, against.

the voter suppression tactics that are. going on because we need a landslide. We. need an exorcism of this kind of. authoritarian politics. >> Last question, Congressman. Um I think. you had rightly pointed out that that. Trump is kind of giving a green light to. these insurrectionists around the. country who are looking to um go out. there and commit violence on his behalf. and knowing that not only will they not. be prosecuted, you know, he'll he's. pardoned 1,500 of them, but it's. actually a financially advantageous. exercise to do this now. He wants to.

make all of them millionaires. And so, how are you looking at this in light of. the fact that this is somebody who's. already shown to be to be um ready and. willing to commit violence if it means. it can help him steal an election as we. head toward other elections where he's. acting increasingly desperate. >> Well, he is accompanying all of these. financial maneuvers with the claim that. once his ridiculous, ludicrous case. against the IRS for $10 billion.

is settled, that that will be a. statement that he in fact won the 2020. presidential election. Even though. there's nothing in his case about the. 2020 presidential election, even though. 60 different federal and state court. judges, including eight that he. appointed to the bench himself, determined that there was no election. fraud and there was no electoral. corruption, and that Joe Biden beat him. by more than 7 million votes, 306 to 232. in the Electoral College, and yet that. now is the defining litmus test issue.

within the Republican Party. And if you. cross him on that, like, you know, Mitt Romney or Liz. Cheney or Adam Kinzinger, um if you know, you cross him, then he. will bring down the full weight of his. mega apparatus against you. But if you. stand with him so far as to commit. violence against police officers, he. will do anything for you. It's like uh. you know, who wants to be a mega. millionaire? Uh you you go to war for us.

and uh we'll find a way to give you a. million dollars of the taxpayers' money. >> Yeah, I think that's uh that's that's. well said. Congressman, thank you for. fighting back against this. Thanks for. taking the time today. >> Thanks for having me, Brian. Hang tough, man.