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Culture War Roundup for the week of May 18, 2026

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Only Donald Trump could pardon the January 6 defendants and then ruin their lives under the guise of charity. Here's how I see this playing out:

  • Independent Democratic group sues the government to stop the payments
  • Long fight over standing ensues
  • Democrats win White House in 2028; DOJ takes over case
  • In the meantime, a bunch of January 6 defendants have received checks from the fund
  • DOJ files new lawsuit against the fund's administrators, along with everyone who received a check
  • Having spent the money before the Democratic takeover, the fund is now administered by stooges who have no money or interest in actually fighting the suit and are only named as an essential party
  • The suit is now an unwieldy mass of defendants, most of whom have hired local counsel who aren't in a position to litigate the complex, novel legal issues involved
  • January 6 defendants who didn't immediately put their money into escrow are forced into the Hobson's choice of spending it on legal representation or settling by paying a large amount of their meagure fortune to the Preschooler's Trans Education Fund.