Rep. Suozzi calls on Republicans to 'stand up' to stop 'anti-weaponization fund'
Fitzpatrick joined Suozzi in introducing legislation to stop payments from the Justice Department fund.

SOURCE CHECK
TAP FOR WHYCredibility rates Yahoo News, which republished this story. The other scores rate the article itself.
Yahoo News is an established national news platform, and the article contains signs of reporting and attribution to ABC News. The available text does not establish the publisher’s correction practices or the precise division of reporting responsibility.
- Source type — National news platform with an established news operation.
- Transparency — Identifies an author and includes attribution to ABC News material.
- Editorial standards — The article uses attributed quotes and identifies the interview outlets, but the page text offers limited detail about editorial oversight.
The article gives attributed statements from the two lawmakers and the acting attorney general, and explains the fund’s potential recipients and the appropriations dispute. It provides limited detail on the fund’s legal basis or a direct explanation from the Justice Department.
HOW WE SCORE ↗The article includes the lawmakers’ objections and Blanche’s explanation of the application process, but gives little space to the fund’s rationale or a fuller Justice Department response.
- Source diversity — Includes views from lawmakers of both parties and the acting attorney general.
- Counterarguments presented — Blanche’s comments provide some response, but no detailed defense of the fund’s design is presented.
- Omitted context — The article gives limited explanation of the fund’s legal basis and implementation.
The article reports the lawmakers’ criticism and the acting attorney general’s response in largely neutral language. Its framing foregrounds opposition to the fund but does not explicitly endorse that position.
- Language tone — Mostly matter-of-fact reporting with direct quotations.
- Source selection — Includes statements from the two lawmakers and the acting attorney general.
- Framing — The headline emphasizes the lawmakers’ call to stop the fund, without an explicit editorial verdict.
Republished with credit
Republished from ABC News, with credit to the original publisher.
144 stories · 84–85 · updated Oct 7, 2026
This is ABC News's own score, and this article is credited to ABC News. The host score in the Source Check is Yahoo News's.
Reps. Tom Suozzi and Brian Fitzpatrick introduced a bipartisan bill to block payments from the Justice Department’s $1.8 billion fund. Suozzi urged Republicans to join Democrats, arguing Congress should stop taxpayer money from reaching people who claim they were victimized by the government.
Suozzi and Fitzpatrick, co-chairs of the House Problem Solvers Caucus, called for Congress to block the Justice Department fund, which could pay settlements to people claiming government victimization. They introduced a bill to prevent the fund from disbursing payments. Fitzpatrick argued that the arrangement bypasses Congress’s constitutional power over appropriations.
Suozzi urged Republicans to work with Democrats to block the payments and criticized the possibility that Jan. 6 rioters convicted of assaulting police could receive money. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Jan. 6 defendants could apply for payments but that eligibility to apply did not mean they would receive one.
Community verdict
22 VOTESPeople in this story
SWIPE →Republican co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus and co-sponsor of a bill to block fund payments
Democratic co-chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus and co-sponsor of a bill to block fund payments
Suozzi's version of this story ↗Acting attorney general responding to criticism of the fund
President whose administration is associated with the fund and who pardoned a Jan. 6 defendant
Republican representative cited as having lost a primary to a Trump-backed challenger
Republican senator cited as having lost a primary to a Trump-backed challenger
Part of a bigger story
9 OUTLETSBrian Fitzpatrick and Tom Suozzi introduced a bipartisan bill to block federal payments from a Justice Department fund of nearly $1.8 billion. Center outlets emphasize the bill and questions about the fund’s authorization, oversight and payment process. Right-leaning outlets foreground Fitzpatrick’s opposition, including his call for a House debate and questions about transparency.
- ARTICLES
- 11
- OUTLETS
- 9
- AVG CRED
- 70
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