Prison to Pardons to Payouts: Jan. 6 Rioters Are Elated at Trump’s $1.8 Billion Fund
Source: NYT > U.S. > Politics · Bias: Center Left
Summary
The possibility that people who ransacked the Capitol could get money from the government they attacked is the latest head-spinning twist in President Trump’s effort to rewrite the history of Jan. 6.
Prison to Pardons to Payouts: Jan. 6 Rioters Are Elated at Trump’s $1.8 Billion Fund
Center Left
The possibility that people who ransacked the Capitol could get money from the government they attacked is the latest head-spinning twist in President Trump’s effort to rewrite the history of Jan. 6.
Even as President Donald Trump continues dismissing Americans’ concerns about affordability heading into the 2026 midterm elections, a study released on Monday reveals that US parents are about to pay a hefty premium to ensure their children are prepared for school this fall.A joint analysis from Groundwork Collaborative and The Century Foundation finds that a typical basket of school supplies costs nearly 8% more than it did last year, with typical school lunch items costing 11% more.Lunch boxes have posted the largest yearly price increase, as the analysis estimates they will cost nearly 27% more this year than in 2025. Other items whose prices have soared include one-subject notebooks (23% yearly increase), index cards (22%), and notebook paper (20%).Trump’s illegal war with Iran, which has caused fuel prices including diesel to surge higher, has played a large role in increasing prices, as have his tariffs on foreign imports, the report notes.The increase in diesel has been particularly troublesome for the price of food, the analysis points out, as the fuel is used both by farmers to power their agricultural equipment and by delivery trucks that ship food to grocery stores.When it comes to the tariffs, the report points to Newell Brands—the company that makes Sharpies, Paper Mate, Elmer’s glue, and other school supply staples—which has been hit with a $174 million tax bill thanks to Trump’s policies and has consistently raised prices over the last year.The report also points to changes made to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) made in Republicans’ 2025 budget law that will make it harder for low-income kids to qualify for food assistance this school year.Lindsay Owens, president of Groundwork Collaborative, said Trump’s policies are forcing parents “to worry about whether they can afford to buy what their students need to be successful in the classroom.”“If the president continues to treat our economy like a schoolyard game, our students and their families will pay the price,” said Owens. “When report cards come this year, Americans will give Trump an F.”Janelle Jones, senior fellow at The Century Foundation, noted that school supplies aren’t luxuries for families, but rather “the baseline for a kid to show up ready to learn.”“When notebooks and paper are up over 20%,” Jones emphasized, “we’re not just squeezing family budgets, we’re setting students up to fall behind. We know where this leads: lower test scores, more kids repeating grades, and worse outcomes well into adulthood.”
Lawyers trying to mount a class action lawsuit against Elon Musk and America PAC, a super PAC he funded to support President Donald Trump and other conservatives, say the defendants aren’t cooperating in turning over key documents.“We’re getting the run-around,” said attorney Shannon Liss-Riordan, who is based in Massachusetts. “We’ve been delayed in getting discovery.”The cases against Musk and America PAC stem from a promise to pay $47 for every successful referral of a registered swing state voter to sign a petition in favor of “free speech and the right to bear arms.” The amount was later raised to $100 per signature.“Easy money,” Musk posted on the social media site X, which he owns, in October 2024.One proposed class action case was brought by an anonymous plaintiff who says, while working as an hourly canvasser for America PAC, he was encouraged to refer people to sign the petition for additional pay. The plaintiff, listed as John Doe, says he’s owed more than $20,000 and is aware of others in similar situations.Another case was brought by Lancaster man Anthony Maglietta and two other swing state voters who say they were never paid for signing the petition or referring others.Liss-Riordan, the attorney for both cases, is trying to get them approved as a class action. They’re moving forward together in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.She says she’s heard from dozens of people who could qualify if the court allows it.“These are generally people who are followers of Elon Musk, and believed in what he was doing and are aligned politically with a goal here,” she told the Capital-Star. “The fact that they weren’t even paid what they were told they would be paid — I don’t know if it’s surprising or not, but it’s very disappointing.”The Capital-Star reached out to lawyers for Musk and America PAC, an email associated with Musk’s family office, and a public relations firm that employs a spokesperson for America PAC. None responded.America PAC’s website says, “America PAC has already mailed the overwhelming majority of checks owed to eligible referrers and petition signers. If you haven’t received payment yet, that does not necessarily mean you won’t … We continue to review and process outstanding payments that have been flagged for mismatched information or require additional action.”Musk is reported to have spent around $290 million helping Trump and Republicans get elected in 2024, making him the largest single political donor of the election cycle. Following the election, he was made a special government employee by the Trump administration, serving as the de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).“Going in circles”In a letter to U.S. District Court Judge Wendy Beetlestone, Liss-Riordan explained that her clients requested documents from the defendants in December 2025, part of the discovery process.She said her team was told by America PAC that they did not have the documents, and should seek them from third-party vendors they’d contracted. But when they went to those vendors, they were told that America PAC had them.“Plaintiffs are frustrated that they have been going in circles to obtain the discovery that is essential to their case – with Defendants claiming the vendors have the documents and the vendors claiming Defendants have the documents – and neither agreeing to produce them,” Liss-Riordan wrote.Moreover, she alleges that some of the vendors may not be as independent as they seem. She says, for example, United States of America Inc. and Group America, LLC were established by Musk. And other vendors she sought documents from had principal members who were also high-ups at America PAC.A conference has been set up between Eastern District Judge Wendy Beetlestone and lawyers for both parties on Tuesday, but it will not be streamed to the public.Both parties have requested an extension of the deadline to certify a class action case from July 31 to November 30. It would mark the third such extension.According to Liss-Riordan, class certification can’t be done until more documents are turned over in discovery.Musk and America PAC are also being sued in a Texas U.S. District Court over an alleged $1 million giveaway to swing state voters who signed a petition to support the U.S. Constitution. Plaintiffs allege that Musk and America PAC misled voters into thinking winners would be chosen randomly, but were actually predetermined.The bipartisan Wisconsin Elections Commission also agreed in a 5-1 vote in July to refer two complaints against Musk to the Brown County district attorney’s office, finding probable cause that he violated the state’s election bribery statute with another million dollar giveaway during the state’s 2025 state supreme court election.
Outgoing Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), defeated in May's GOP primary by a Trump-endorsed opponent, is leveraging his "newfound political freedom."Punchbowl News reported Monday that Cornyn aims to extract concessions from the White House or obstruct its agenda. Cornyn's primary target is shuttering the Trump administration's $1.7 billion anti-weaponization fund, which provides payouts to those claiming unfair targeting by former President Joe Biden's Justice Department. Cornyn suggested Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's confirmation could be jeopardized unless the White House capitulates on the fund."If they want to get [Blanche] out of the committee, I think they realize they need to talk to us," Cornyn said. Already freed from primary threats, Cornyn previously leveraged ambassador nominees to secure international AIDS relief funding commitments. He promised, "You ain't seen nothing yet," according to Punchbowl News. Cornyn joins growing GOP "apostates," or ousted lawmakers with nothing to lose by opposing Trump, according to The Washington Post's Karen Tumulty. Watch the video below. Your browser does not support the video tag.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) slammed President Donald Trump's demand for the Senate not to take a recess until the SAVE America Act is passed.On Monday, the senator, who was recently ousted from the Texas Republican primary runoff following Trump's endorsement of his opponent, Ken Paxton, called this whole plan an "act of futility," NOTUS' Igor Bobic reported.“Unfortunately, with the assistance of some senators, he's raising expectations among Republican voters," said Cornyn. "They're bound to end up being disappointed, which strikes me as a bad approach 99 days before the midterms.”Trump has been obsessed with passing the SAVE America Act for months. The legislation would impose draconian nationwide restrictions on voting rights, including proof-of-citizenship and voter ID requirements so strict that even REAL ID driver's licenses wouldn't be acceptable in most states.The passage of the bill was a significant flash point in the Texas Senate primary, even though both Cornyn and Paxton supported the legislation; Paxton vowed to drop out of the race if Congress passed the legislation before the date it was held, as a ploy to pin its failure to pass on Cornyn as the incumbent.Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), for his part, has also poured cold water on the scheme to hold back the Senate from recess, reminding Trump and the general public that the votes just aren't there to change Senate rules to stop a Democratic filibuster.
President Trump in a primetime address earlier this month again raised the specter of large volumes of migrants voting in U.S. elections, warning there could be more than 250,000 noncitizens among four state’s voter rolls. But the Trump administration has not explained how it got that number, and correspondence sent to the four states reviewed…
Emergency appeal comes after court upheld ruling blocking president’s order ahead of November midtermsThe Trump administration has asked the supreme court to clear the way for an executive order from Donald Trump that could dramatically change mail-in voting.The emergency appeal comes after an appeals court upheld a ruling blocking the president’s order in nearly half the country ahead of November’s midterm elections. Continue reading...
