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TRANSCRIPT

Jane Coaston: It’s Wednesday, May 27th, I’m Jane Coaston, and this is What a Day, the show that briefly wondered, hey, what’s Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. up to? The answer? Wrestling snakes outside of Dr. Oz’s house. I don’t know what I expected. [music break] On today’s show, President Donald Trump has a three-hour-long physical. Hmm. And his administration is reportedly thinking about having all federal employees sign NDAs. Sounds familiar. But let’s start with Trump’s $1.776 billion dollar MAGA slush fund. The fund intended for victims of DOJ weaponization has very few supporters, besides, of course, the people who rioted on January 6th, who are looking forward to their checks. Here’s bullhorn lady, Rachel Powell, speaking to CNN about the fund.

[clip of Rachel Powell] My crime that day of breaking a window, technically that’s a misdemeanor charge. And yet I had three years of house arrest, then having to endure everything I did through prison and getting a five-year sentence on top of that. That’s clearly weaponization. 

Jane Coaston: Never a good sign when you’re saying, technically, about your charges. The fund came out of a deal made by Trump’s personal attorneys and lawyers of the government over the leak of his tax records. TLDR, Trump sued the IRS while president and then the government, of which he is the head, settled. Weird. But if you ask Trump, he’s just doing everyone a great big favor. He posted on Truth Social last week that he could have just settled the leak case but quote, “instead, I am helping others who were so badly abused by an evil, corrupt, and weaponized Biden administration, receive at long last, justice.” I can think of a few people who won’t be receiving any justice from this administration. The people in uniform who tried to stop a mob on January 6th, for instance. Former U.S. Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn was one of those people, and now he’s suing the Trump administration over the slush fund that could reward the rioters who attacked him. We spoke about the slush fund, his lawsuit, and why it’s so important to him to stand up for what actually happened that day. Harry, welcome to What a Day! 

Harry Dunn: Thanks for having me. It’s great, I love the show. Um. So I’m now glad to be on it, so. 

Jane Coaston: Amazing. So you and Metropolitan Police Department Officer Daniel Hodges filed a lawsuit against President Trump just two days after the DOJ announced its new anti-weaponization slush fund. I’m using air quotes because that’s how I feel about it. What was your reaction when you first heard about it? 

Harry Dunn: Well, fun fact, not only did Daniel Hodges and I protect the Capitol on January 6th together, not only are we suing Donald Trump and his administration because of the slush fund, we also have another current lawsuit against this Department of Justice for failure to putting up the January 6th plaque. We filed that a long time ago and it is still in litigation. So I feel like that’s become our thing, just showing up when it’s needed, always looking for ways to fight back, especially in this environment where so many people are looking. What can I do? What can I do? This is wrong on so many levels. We knew this was coming. Donald Trump, along with the pardons that he issued on January 20th, 2025, the day that he was inaugurated, he made this a campaign promise to pay them and to pardon them. We knew that this was coming, which is why we were able to act so swiftly with our lawsuit, getting it filed once he officially announced that this was his plan um to pay out these rioters. 

Jane Coaston: We’ve seen Republicans attempt to rewrite what happened on that day, but you were there. Do you remember any great patriots in the words of our president? 

Harry Dunn: Let me ask you that, look I’m going to turn it back real quick. January 6th was almost five and a half years ago. Five and a half, what as long as you’ve been covering news or the media, what story do you know, five and half years later, that’s still front page news, breaking news every single time it’s talked about? You know why? Because there’s been no accountability for January 6th. It remains one of the most documented crime scenes in American history, and zero people have been held accountable because of that day, zero. And that’s why we’re still talking about it now. And no, there were absolutely no patriots there. Now listen, you know obviously I’m very biased and to hell with everybody who was there with the assaulting me and my coworkers. But there were people who were just walking around who may have got caught up in the moment. I agree. And those people were dealt with accordingly. They may have paid a small fine. They weren’t sitting years and years in jail. The people that assaulted police officers, that were impeding law enforcement, that were obstructing Congress, that had conspiracy charges, that were charged and convicted of seditious conspiracy, uh those are the people that were spending years and years in jail. So it’s such a slap in the face to law enforcement officers, to me, um but that’s what this president is attempting to do. As of January 6th, this year alone, the White House put out a new website about the new January 6th. Blaming the police officers from for the violence that happened that day, and also also honoring the people there who attacked law enforcement that day. So it’s just been a continued slap in the face, and that’s why this is so important that we get this lawsuit through the courts and we succeed at it, because this is an attempt at Donald Trump telling everybody that’s listening, don’t believe your lying eyes. You didn’t see what you saw. 

Jane Coaston: Now the Trump administration is like, of course the fund is not explicitly for people who were there on January 6th. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said last week that the fund was for anyone who has felt that the government has been weaponized against them, not just Republicans. What’s your response to that because I’m thinking like should you apply for that fund? 

Harry Dunn: Yeah well you know it’s funny, I saw a couple of people on different various social media outlets um saying, oh, you know what? I’m definitely going to apply for this because you know they’re obviously liberals and you know Donald Trump hates Democrats. I mean, look at his recent Memorial Day, Dumbocrats, as he calls it. Um. There’s no way in the world that we would get a penny out of this. But also, beyond that, I don’t believe anybody’s going to get anything from it because I believe in being successful at this lawsuit. We believe one that we have the standing to it because paying out the people responsible for one of the most violent days in American history, one of the darkest days in American history, it endangers me and Daniel Hodges’ life continually. A lot of people know us because of what we’ve done, not after what we did on January 6th, but us talking about it, us advocating, testifying in trials, doing news appearances. What they don’t see is the death threats that we get daily, weekly, the confrontations that we have to endure. The run-ins that we have with these people who are now emboldened by this administration. So we believe that even if you are and have been weaponized, we believe in stopping this fund because we think it’s illegal. And also, another note, it’s also Constitution in the Constitution that says America should not be providing comfort and aid to insurrectionists. And that’s exactly what they’re doing should they decide to pay out insurrectionists. 

Jane Coaston: You seem pretty confident about this suit. Why what gives you that confidence? 

Harry Dunn: We’re morally clear on this. We are morally focused. We’re laser locked in that this is right. And and you know what? This this is more than just, hey, let’s make a statement. Let’s you know let’s make some kind of symbolic gesture with this lawsuit. We actually believe that we can win this thing. And why we also feel so confident about it outside of just the legal arguments that we will be making um in the in the courts. Outside of that, this is just wrong. The American people are against this. This is taxpayer money. And you know what, one thing, taxpayers are always angry about paying taxes and they damn sure are going to be angry about paying taxes for insurrectionists. This isn’t like a somebody set up a GoFundMe account or somebody sent sent up one of their donate here to support these, that’s not what this is. And it’s wrong. And I don’t believe any taxpayer, even Republicans want their money going to reward insurrectionists who attack people on the Capitol. 

Jane Coaston: You mentioned that January 6th was nearly, you know, five and a half years ago. On that day, did you imagine that you would still need to be talking about it, still needing to basically fight that battle daily five and half years later? 

Harry Dunn: Five and a half years later from January 6th, I have quit the department and I am in my second run for Congress now. No, I absolutely had no idea that that day would lead me to this right now. I thought that the nation was clear-eyed about what happened. I thought that they were morally accepting about who was responsible for it. Actually, you know what? They were. Mitch McConnell on the House floor, excuse me, on the Senate floor during the impeachment proceedings. Donald Trump is morally responsible for what happened on January 6th. He he needs to take full responsibility. Those were his words. So Kevin McCarthy and so many people were on the same page. Lindsey Graham. I’m done with them. You know what? We can’t stand with this guy anymore. So I’m like, all right, this is great. We have accountability coming. Everybody’s on the same page. And then slowly over time, Donald Trump got to them. The people, the constituents, I guess, MAGA got to, to them and they lost their spine and they lost their courage. So at the time, I did not think that we would be here now. I thought that Donald Trump would have been impeached. I thought that he even if he didn’t get him convicted, I damn sure believe that he wouldn’t win this election again. But to be very candid and very honest, America failed us. We didn’t show up for the assignment when we had an opportunity, us, the ultimate authority to hold people accountable. The American people. We didn’t hold him accountable at the ballot box in 2024. So America failed the assignment. Now, I know there are a lot of our listeners out there that are saying, no, not us. Absolutely not us, right? We we did it. But we have to look at what can we do instead of saying, I told you so. So we’re going to do more. We are one third, one third of the way up through Donald Trump’s second term. He has two thirds of a term left. And you think the first half, that the first throw was bad, buckle up. Unless we get people that are willing to rein him in and hold their hold hold this country protected like they’re supposed to. These are elected officials, they’re not doing it right now. 

Jane Coaston: So looking ahead, I mean we mentioned it’s been five and a half years and you’re still having to go through this every single day But looking down the road, why do you think it’s important to stop this slush fund? 

Harry Dunn: What’s the alternative and what message does that send? Now, when the pardons were issued, everybody was outraged, rightfully so about it, because that forgave the people from January 6th. Accountability serves two purposes. One, it provides some type of closure uh to those who are aggrieved. In this case, it was the entire country because everybody watched that day horrified. But what accountability also does, it serves as a deterrent to keep them to keep anything like that from happening again. When we were robbed of accountability, Donald Trump now with this slush fund has created an incentive. He’s incentivized a tax now to stand with him as long as you do it in his name. At first it was just, hey, we’ll forgive you. Now it’s like, wait, I can get paid to do this now? So I think Donald Trump has basically put a retainer on his armed private militia because I don’t expect him to leave office peacefully in January of 2029. Why? Because he doesn’t have a good track record of doing it already. 

Jane Coaston: Harry, thank you so much for joining me. 

Harry Dunn: Thank you. 

Jane Coaston: That was my conversation with former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn. We’ll get to more news that doesn’t involve January 6th rioters in a moment, but if you like the show, make sure to subscribe, leave a five star review on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, watch us on YouTube, and share with your friends. More to come after some ads. [music break]

[AD BREAK]

Jane Coaston: Here’s what else we’re following today. 

[clip of Secretary of State Marco Rubio] It’s either gonna be a good deal or there isn’t going to be one. 

Jane Coaston: That was Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaking on Tuesday about negotiations with Iran. His comments came after the U.S. struck the Middle Eastern country. Iran denounced the strikes as a sign of, quote, “bad faith and unreliability.” The U.S. military characterized Monday’s strikes in southern Iran as defensive and said the U.S. acted with, quote, “restraint” in light of the weeks-long ceasefire. Iran’s foreign ministry called the strikes a ceasefire violation and warned that Washington would bare responsibility for any consequences. Federal judges blocked Alabama’s plan to use a congressional map that could give Republicans an advantage in a key U.S. House race. On Tuesday, a three-judge panel in the state’s long-running redistricting case issued a preliminary injunction that prevents the state from switching maps, ruling that the Republican-backed plan, quote, “intentionally discriminated based on race by including only one Black majority district.” On that note, South Carolina’s GOP-controlled Senate rejected a push to redraw districts, which would have likely pushed out the state’s lone Democratic congressman, Jim Clyburn. The political drama in South Carolina is part of a Republican strategy, propelled by Trump, to redrew voting districts to the GOP’s advantage. Republicans have moved quickly to try to leverage a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that weakened minority protections under the Federal Voting Rights Act. The Trump administration is proposing that all government employees sign a non-disclosure agreement to prevent them from sharing, quote, “confidential government information.” That news comes from a draft notice published in the Federal Register on Tuesday. According to the Washington Post, the NDAs would go beyond classified information to include basically anything that isn’t publicly available. The draft notice cites several examples of, quote, “unauthorized disclosures,” including reporting from the New York Times and Washington Post, regarding the U.S. raid that captured former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. According to the notice, not signing the NDA could result in, quote, “removal from federal service.” However, agencies could decide whether or not to adopt the NDAs in the first place. Trump had another medical exam on Tuesday, putting his health under renewed scrutiny after he has worked to dismiss concerns over his age and stamina. The 79-year-old president spent more than three hours at Walter Reed National Military Hospital. It was Trump’s fourth publicly disclosed medical exam since he returned to office. In a social media post after the visit, Trump said that he had just finished his, quote, “six-month physical,” and that, quote, “everything checked out perfectly.” Yes, perfect is the word I would also use to describe those bruised hands and his habit of falling asleep during daytime events. And that’s the news. [music break]

[AD BREAK]

Jane Coaston: That’s all for today. If you like the show, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, don’t listen to Tucker Carlson for most things, including financial advice, and tell your friends to listen. And if you’re into reading, and not just about how the right-wing pundit offered a pearl of wisdom on his podcast on Monday. 

[clip of Tucker Carlson] I think people should stop paying their credit cards. I know no one else agrees with me. And, oh, you have a moral obligation. Really? Well, you’ve a moral obligation not to send credit card applications to kids in college. 

Jane Coaston: Like me, What a Day is also a nightly newsletter. Check it out and subscribe at Crooked.com/subscribe. I’m Jane Coaston, and look, maybe that excuse works for someone who once made $20 million a year when he was working for Fox News, but um, I would not suggest attempting it on your next call to Wells Fargo. What a Day is a production of Crooked Media. Our show is produced by Caitlin Plummer, Emily Fohr, Erica Morrison, and Adriene Hill. Our team includes Hayley Jones, Greg Walters, Matt Berg, Joseph Dutra, Johanna Case, and Desmond Taylor. Our music is by Kyle Murdock and Jordan Cantor. We had help today from the Associated Press. Our production staff is proudly unionized with the Writers Guild of America East. [music break]