Melanie Stansbury calls Trump a 'known fraudster' as JD Vance's anti-fraud remarks

U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury slammed the Trump administration on Tuesday, calling President Donald Trump a "known fraudster" who "stole" well over a billion dollars of taxpayer money. Stansbury shared a video of Vice President J.D. Vance speaking about tackling fraud at a rally in Kansas City. "If you are committing fraud against the American people, you ought to go to prison," he said in the video, much to the contempt of the New Mexico Representative.

Taking to X, Stansbury said President Trump had stolen more than $1.7 billion from taxpayers. On Monday, the U.S. Justice Department announced a $1.7 billion 'Anti-Weaponization Fund' to compensate people who believe they were not treated well by the Biden administration, as per PBS. The fund was a part of the Justice Department's efforts to resolve a personal lawsuit between Trump and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over leaked tax returns.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the fund was "a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress." However, on Tuesday, Blanche had to testify before the Senate regarding this new fund. Speaking at the hearing, he said that the fund was not just limited to helping Republicans who believe they weren't treated well under the previous administration.

"It's not limited to Republicans," he said. "There are no limitations on the claims." He also said that the administration looked to appoint five commissioners to oversee the fund, and that any money leftover would go back to the federal government. He also acknowledged that the move was unusual. Senator Chris Van Hollen asked if those convicted of assaulting Capitol Hill police officers in the January 6 incident, would be eligible.

"Anybody in this country is eligible to apply if they believe they are a victim of weaponization," Blanche said before revealing that he would be appointing all five commissioners, who would draft the rules of eligibility. Van Hollen also asked questions about whether the fund would go to people who were later convicted of other crimes, citing an example.

"An individual who was pardoned by Trump went on to molest two children, and he tried to buy their silence by saying he would give them funds from your slush fund. Can you commit to not making that person eligible for a payout?" he asked. The Acting Attorney General accused the Maryland Senator of lying, leading to a heated exchange.

Sen. Chris Coons asked if Blanche could commit that no member of President Trump's family would receive a direct payment from the fund. He mentioned that this was the first time a U.S. President had sued his own government and directed his chosen Attorney General to set the fund up. "Yes, but what you just said is not true," Blanche responded. "The President did not direct me to do anything."