Hutzell: Harry Dunn isn’t finished fighting the insurrection

Harry Dunn’s lawsuit might not have been a campaign strategy, but it sure as hell should remind people what’s at stake in the 5th District.

He told me he didn’t sue to block Donald Trump’s “Anti-Weaponization Fund” — created to compensate those who stormed the U.S. Capitol or others who claim they were wrongly prosecuted — to benefit his run for Congress.

“People are angry about it within the district,” Dunn said. “Think about all the federal employees who were laid off illegally.”

Where’s the fund to pay them damages across the parts of Prince George’s and Anne Arundel counties, and the Southern Maryland counties that make up the district?

Where’s the money to compensate officers, like Dunn, who were overwhelmed by violent insurrectionists on Jan. 6, 2021, after Trump said the presidency had been stolen from him?

There’s not enough for food stamps or health insurance supplements or efforts to fight an Ebola plague developing in Africa.

But there’s money for a ballroom and money for a war of choice against Iran.

Now there’s $1.8 billion more for the villains of Jan. 6, election deniers and revisionists who tell you to ignore what you saw and believe them.

“There’s money for the dumb stuff,” Dunn said.

The U.S. Department of Justice created the fund as part of its settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service for leaking his tax returns. People who feel they were victims of political prosecution can apply for compensation, including 1,600 pardoned for their roles on Jan. 6.

Acting Attorney General Scott Blanche, Trump’s personal lawyer through tribulations and trials, settled it, giving the president broad immunity. He told Congress on Wednesday that eligibility for payouts is only limited by the term “weaponization.”

Blanche gets to appoint the five-member commission that will dole out the money, and the president gets a veto. Trump and his allies could use it to enrich themselves even more.

What’s left will serve as a down payment on the next insurrection, proving that storming the Capitol for Donald Trump pays off in the end.

“I don’t have any confidence that Donald Trump will leave office peacefully,” Dunn said.

Some Maryland men and women prosecuted for their crimes five years ago say they aren’t sure whether they will dip into this slush fund. Don’t believe them.

“And why wouldn’t they?” Dunn asked.

Let’s recall what some of these weaponization victims are about to be compensated for and the crimes Trump pardoned last year.

Scott Miller was a leader of the Proud Boys, a violent right-wing militia. He pleaded guilty to attacking police officers defending the tunnel at the western side of the building.

Miller used a long wooden pole to beat one officer, then threw a metal pipe, a bottle, a short wooden stick and a large black speaker at others.

Christopher Alberts came to Trump’s rally at the White House wearing body armor, a two-way radio with a throat mike, a 9-millimeter pistol and devastating hollow-point bullets.

Friday, news releases announcing the convictions in the violent attempt to overthrow the government disappeared from the Justice Department website.

Trump’s administration not only pardoned them and plans to pay them. It’s trying to rewrite history by removing all evidence of their crimes.

Dunn is not the only one pissed off about this audacity of greed.

“Every part of this farce is an affront to the Constitution,” U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin wrote in a New York Times op-ed. “It usurps both the exclusive power of Congress to legislate programs and spend money and the power of the courts to decide specific cases and controversies.

“It is, quite simply, a scam.”

Both he and U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen are submitting legislation to block the fund.

“That is pure theft of public funds, and rewarding individuals who committed crimes is obscene. Every American can see through this illegal, corrupt, self-dealing scheme,” Van Hollen said Wednesday during Blanche’s appearance before Congress.

Republicans control Congress, though, and you can bet most will roll over again.

“It’s a Department of Justice fund that is paid for by fines and penalties. So that could be totally appropriate,” Rep. Andy Harris, Maryland’s lone GOP congressman, told WBAL. “I haven’t seen all the details. But, again, that’s one logical conclusion to when you defame someone.”

The president is big on defaming people, calling people names. Opponents struggle to match his juvenile wit.

Thief in Chief is the latest attempt. That one might stick.

Electing Dunn, a Democrat, won’t change the balance in Congress. In Maryland, beating Harris is the only way to do that.

The 5th is a safe Democratic seat, and Dunn is one among dozens who wants to replace retiring Rep. Steny Hoyer.

They all talk about local spending priorities and the cost of living. They talk about Trump.

Dunn is focused on the president almost to the exclusion of other issues.

He wants to sit on the House Oversight Committee with Raskin to needle the cronies of Trump’s second administration.

In their lawsuit, Dunn and D.C. police officer Daniel Hodges claim the fund violates the 14th Amendment, paying “any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States.”

Dunn says it wasn’t the candidate who sued, but the citizen.

A day after Dunn’s lawyers filed the challenge to the fund, I got a campaign pitch about the lawsuit. He’s one of the best-funded candidates in the Democratic primary, but more is critical in a tight race.

TV ads, some of the most expensive elements of a robust campaign, have just started running.

“The polling shows it’s a close matchup,” Dunn said.

So, yeah, he is making it part of his campaign. He should.

Because the Thief in Chief, more than anything else, may be the most important issue in this election.