DOJ official told GOP ally that big payouts were coming for Jan. 6 defendants

EXCLUSIVEJustice DepartmentJustice DepartmentDOJ official told GOP ally that big payouts were coming for Jan. 6 defendantsMonths before the $1.8 billion ‘anti-weaponization’ fund was announced, Ed Martin predicted Capitol rioters would get millions, even if it took until 2028, two people told NBC News. Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Supporters of President Donald Trump rally at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.Jose Luis Magana / AP fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleMay 19, 2026, 5:43 PM EDTBy Ryan J. ReillyEarlier this year, not long after Trump administration official Ed Martin was stripped of his role as head of the Justice Department’s “weaponization” working group that targeted the president’s political foes, he sat down for breakfast at an upscale spot near the White House.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Inside Peacock Alley at the Waldorf Astoria — the place “to see and be seen,” according to the hotel’s website — Martin dined with Republican operative Norm Coleman. The two touched on the upcoming 2026 midterm elections, D.C. federal grand juries and former special counsel Jack Smith, according to two people with direct knowledge of their conversation. Martin also predicted the Justice Department would dole out millions of dollars to those charged, and then later pardoned, in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, the people said. Even if it took until the end of President Donald Trump’s term. Martin estimated it would be something like $40 million, the people said. The pot ended up much, much larger. This week, the Justice Department announced a $1.776 billion fund using taxpayer dollars to provide payouts for those “who suffered weaponization and lawfare” at the hands of the government. The money comes as part of a settlement with President Donald Trump, who sued the executive branch that he oversees - an unprecedented legal move, experts said. Trump, his sons and the...