2026年5月20日 / 美国东部时间晚上7:12 / 哥伦比亚广播公司（CBS）新闻
据哥伦比亚广播公司（CBS News）获得的一封信件显示，一名共和党律师、美国司法部赦免事务律师埃德·马丁的亲密盟友已向司法部提交申请，希望加入一个专门向自称遭遇法律“政治迫害”的受害者发放超17亿美元资金的专门委员会。
当地时间周三晚间，律师迈克·豪厄尔在写给代理司法部长托德·布兰奇的信中表示，他希望“宣布竞选反政治迫害基金的五个委员会成员职位之一”。
根据布兰奇本周签署的一份备忘录，他有权任命监督该基金的委员会成员。该基金于本周一宣布，是司法部就特朗普总统今年早些时候针对美国国税局泄露其纳税申报单提起的100亿美元诉讼达成和解的一部分。
豪厄尔在申请信中写道：“我曾在众议院、美国参议院作证，并曾登上全国性电视和广播节目，讲述普通美国民众因政治观点、宗教信仰以及行使受宪法保护的权利而遭到联邦执法部门 targeting 的案例”，并补充称他“每一天都在为此写作、提起诉讼、辩护和倡导”，且“暂无任何停止的计划”。
如果豪厄尔获选，他将有权监督向该基金提交索赔申请的人员的拨款发放事宜。司法部表示，该基金将运作至2028年底。
配图： 2023年6月6日，律师迈克·豪厄尔在华盛顿联邦法院外发表讲话。曼努埃尔·巴尔塞·塞纳塔 / 美联社
豪厄尔是马丁的亲密盟友，这位司法部赦免事务律师曾为超过1500名因2021年1月6日国会山骚乱被指控或定罪的人员争取特朗普的赦免或减刑。
在政府外部，豪厄尔曾负责推动马丁的参议院确认程序，使其出任华盛顿特区联邦检察官，马丁曾以临时身份担任该职位，但未能获得正式任命。
总部位于华盛顿特区的豪厄尔是保守派组织“监督项目”的主席，该组织负责调查所谓的政府政治迫害行为。他同时还是传统基金会边境安全与移民中心的访问学者。
“反政治迫害基金是特朗普总统和代理司法部长布兰奇迈出的历史性一步，”豪厄尔在发给哥伦比亚广播公司新闻的一份声明中表示，并补充称他已准备好“确保该基金取得成功”。
司法部未回应置评请求。
豪厄尔的信件是已知的首份向司法部提出的委员会任职申请。美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）周二率先报道称，前特朗普顾问、政府官员迈克尔·卡普托提交了首份赔偿申请。卡普托要求获得270万美元的“赔偿和退款”，并称自己因联邦调查局针对2016年大选俄罗斯干预的调查遭到 targeting。
该基金的宣布似乎是特朗普先生为其支持者实施报复的最新举措——始于总统对国会山骚乱涉案人员的赦免行动。司法部和解协议中概述了申请资格的宽泛标准，称委员会将考虑“全部相关情况”。
司法部在关于该基金的新闻稿中表示，“提交索赔申请无党派要求”，但据哥伦比亚广播公司新闻本周报道，国会山骚乱涉案人员和其他“让美国再次伟大”（MAGA）阵营的盟友已在考虑申请救助。
豪厄尔在给布兰奇的信中表示，如果入选委员会，“我的首批行动之一将是在华盛顿特区组织一场全国性集会，召集数千名政治迫害受害者”。
“这些受害者将包括那些因支持特朗普总统而不得不支付律师费的人，那些被送进监狱的人，包括2021年1月6日事件的参与者，”信中写道。“在这场集会上，受害者将有时间和空间分享他们的故事。”
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/michael-caputo-former-trump-official-files-claim-for-anti-weaponization-fund/
Ally of DOJ pardon attorney seeks to join board of Trump’s $1.7+ billion fund
May 20, 2026 / 7:12 PM EDT / CBS News
A Republican lawyer and close ally of Ed Martin, the U.S. pardon attorney, has submitted a request to the Justice Department to join a panel that will dispense over $1.7 billion to people who claim they were victims of legal “weaponization,” according to a letter obtained by CBS News.
On Wednesday evening, lawyer Mike Howell said in a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche that he wished to “declare my candidacy for one of the five member positions on the anti-weaponization fund.”
Blanche is responsible for appointing the members of the commission overseeing the fund, according to a memo he signed this week. The fund was announced Monday as part of the DOJ’s settlement of a $10 billion lawsuit that President Trump filed earlier this year against the Internal Revenue Service for the leak of his tax returns.
“I have testified before the House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and have appeared on national television and radio to lay out the cases of ordinary Americans targeted by federal law enforcement for their political views, their faith, and their exercise of constitutionally protected rights,” Howell wrote in the application letter — adding that he has “written, sued, defended, and advocated every single day to this end” and is “not planning on stopping any time soon.”
If Howell is chosen, it would place him in a powerful position to oversee payments to people who submit claims to the fund, which the DOJ said will operate through the end of 2028.
File: Attorney Mike Howell speaks outside the federal courthouse in Washington on June 6, 2023. Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP
Howell is a close ally of Martin, the pardon attorney at the Justice Department who advocated for Mr. Trump’s pardons or commutations for more than 1,500 people who were charged or convicted for their role in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
From outside the government, Howell ran Martin’s Senate confirmation process to be U.S. attorney for D.C., a job Martin held on an interim basis but failed to secure full-time.
Howell, who is based in Washington, D.C., is the president of a conservative group called the Oversight Project that investigates alleged weaponization of government. He is also a visiting fellow in the border security and immigration center at the Heritage Foundation.
“The anti-weaponization fund is a historic step by President Trump and Acting Attorney General Blanche,” Howell said in a statement to CBS News, adding that he is ready “to make sure it is a success.”
The Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment.
Howell’s letter is the first known request to the DOJ to serve on the commission. CNN first reported on Tuesday that the first request for compensation was made by Michael Caputo, a former Trump adviser and administration official. Caputo asked for $2.7 million in “restitution and reimbursement,” arguing he was targeted by the FBI’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
The fund’s announcement appears to be the latest step Mr. Trump has taken to carry out retribution for his supporters — beginning with the president’s clemency for Jan. 6 defendants. There is a loose criteria outlined in the DOJ’s settlement agreement for who may apply to receive some of the over $1.7 billion, which said the commission would consider the “totality of the circumstances.”
The DOJ said in a press release about the fund that there are “no partisan requirements to file a claim,” though Capitol riot defendants and other MAGA allies are already considering applying for relief, CBS News reported this week.
In his letter to Blanche, Howell said that, if selected for the panel, “one of my very first actions will be organizing a national gathering of the thousands of victims of weaponization, held in Washington, D.C.”
“These victims will include those who had to pay legal fees because of their support for President Trump, those who were sent to prison, including those involved with January 6th, 2021,” the letter read. “At this gathering, victims will be offered the time and space to share their stories.”
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/michael-caputo-former-trump-official-files-claim-for-anti-weaponization-fund/
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