Maddow Blog-Trump's Justice Department backs reimbursements for some Jan. 6 criminals

[LetMyPeopleVote]

Many Jan. 6 criminals paid restitution to help cover the costs of damages to the Capitol. The DOJ thinks some of them should be reimbursed.
https://bsky.app/profile/stevebenen.com/post/3lmhyyfcmvs2w

Many Jan. 6 criminals paid restitution to help cover the costs of damages to the Capitol.

Trump's Justice Department apparently thinks some of them should be reimbursed.

Link to tweet

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trumps-justice-department-backs-reimbursements-jan-6-criminals-rcna200590

In the days that followed, the White House didn’t shed any additional light on the idea, but as Politico reported, Trump’s Justice Department took a related position in a court filing this week.

Jan. 6 defendants whose convictions were wiped out by President Donald Trump are entitled to a refund of restitution payments they made to cover damage to the Capitol, the Justice Department said Tuesday.

The fact that many Jan. 6 rioters were identified, charged and convicted is well known. The fact that the president pardoned those who attacked the U.S. Capitol in his name is also well known. What much of the public might not know, however, is that Jan. 6 criminals also had to pay financial penalties as part of their prosecutions.

As a USA Today report explained, “Most defendants convicted for the Capitol insurrection were required to pay restitution to the Architect of the Capitol, who maintains the building and grounds, to help cover the costs of repairing the estimated $3 million in damage. Those convicted of felonies typically paid $2,000 and those convicted of misdemeanors typically paid $500.”.....

Five years later, however, the Trump administration apparently wants the money to start flowing in the opposite direction. From the Politico report:

The administration revealed its position in a filing to U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is weighing one defendant’s request to be repaid the $500 in restitution he sent to the Architect of the Capitol after his conviction on misdemeanor charges. The defendant, Stacy Hager, argued in February that he should be reimbursed now that his conviction has been erased as part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping grant of clemency to more than 1,500 people charged in the attack.[/blockquote]

This week, Trump’s Justice Department responded to Hager’s argument and endorsed reimbursing her.

The pardons were unforgiveable and reimbursing these terrorists is just adding salt to the wound

[LetMyPeopleVote]

1. The Justice Department is preparing to return $63,000 it seized from Jan. 6 defendant

A January 6 terrorist who filmed the death of Ashli Babbitt is about to be rewarded by the trump DOJ

Link to tweet