Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) gave an awkward response when Face The Nation’s Nancy Cordes asked how he would explain away President Donald Trump’s sweetheart deal with the IRS to his constituents.

“How are you explaining to your constituents this new settlement that prevents the IRS from auditing any Trump family documents prior to this year?” Cordes asked on Sunday’s show.

“Well, I think when it comes to any agreements that the president has made with the IRS, from my vantage point, you know, I think looking back at what the Biden administration did, they certainly weaponized the government and were targeting the president,” Lawler said. “And I think he obviously had claims that he brought against the government as a result of that.”

Lawler gave no further explanation and Cordes didn’t push him.

Other GOP lawmakers have vehemently opposed the fund, with Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) calling it “stupid on stilts.”

Trump sued his own IRS for $10 billion after an employee leaked Trump family tax returns to the press during the president’s first term in office. The Department of Justice announced last week that Trump essentially settled with himself, agreeing to drop the suit in exchange for a $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” for anyone who felt persecuted by the federal government during the Biden administration. Critics were quick to call the arrangement a “slush fund” and warned that January 6 rioters who were found guilty on various charges before being pardoned by Trump, could cash in for millions.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche justified the fact that rioters who harmed Capitol police could end up millionaires, telling CNN’s Paula Reid, “People that hurt police get money all the time.”

He added, “There’s a process where … if you believe you have your rights violated, you can apply for funds, you can sue, you can file a claim, you can go to court. In some of those cases, the state, the government, the federal government settles those cases.

“It’s abhorrent to ever, ever touch a law enforcement officer, which is why anytime anybody does that and it’s a federal officer, we’ll prosecute them. But that’s a completely different question than whether an individual is allowed to apply for a claim.”

One rioter named Brandon Fellows, who broke into the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, told CNN he was claiming $30 million for wrongful imprisonment after serving more than 1,000 days behind bars. Other MAGA notables who’ve said they plan to file claims included MyPillow guy Mike Lindell, Trump campaign manager Michael Caputo, and former Trump fixer Michael Cohen.

Watch the clip above via CBS News’s Face the Nation.

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