Judge keeps Trump anti-weaponization fund blocked

A federal judge in Virginia on Friday indefinitely blocked the Trump administration from creating or operating a nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, saying the government had not provided sworn assurances that the controversial program is dead.

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema granted a preliminary injunction from the bench after a brief hearing in federal court in Alexandria. She gave the administration one week to submit a declaration, signed under penalty of perjury by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, stating that the fund will not move forward.

If the government files that declaration, Brinkema said she would likely find the case moot and dismiss it. Until then, the fund remains blocked “until further notice from the court,” The Guardian reported.

The Justice Department had argued the challenge was moot because Blanche told Congress earlier this month that the government was scrapping the plan after bipartisan criticism. Justice Department lawyer Andrew Block also wrote in court papers that the fund “had not been set up and is now not going forward.”

Brinkema rejected that argument, saying the statements were not made under penalty of perjury. “That means the issue really is not moot,” she said, according to CBS News. The judge also cited recent statements from President Donald Trump expressing support for the fund as evidence that there was not “uncontestable evidence” the program would not be revived in some form.

Brinkema questioned why Blanche had not rescinded the May 18 order that established the fund or formally committed in writing that it would not proceed. Block said he had not spoken with Blanche about the matter. The judge said she could not believe, “given the significance of the case,” that the Justice Department lawyer had not discussed why the order remained in place, calling the omission a “huge gap” in the record.

The Justice Department announced the fund last month as part of a deal to settle a civil lawsuit Trump filed against the Internal Revenue Service in January over the leak of his tax returns by a former government contractor. The department said the $1.776 billion fund was intended to “provide a systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare.”

Under the settlement, five people appointed by the attorney general would have authority to distribute payouts. The Justice Department did not specify who could receive money, but CBS News reported that several people convicted of crimes related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, as well as Trump allies, said after the fund was announced that they planned to apply for relief.

Plaintiffs challenging the fund argue the government cannot legally divert taxpayer money into a compensation program for Trump allies. Brinkema called it “problematic” that nearly $1.8 billion in taxpayer dollars could go to people convicted of crimes stemming from the Capitol attack.

The judge also read from a friend-of-the-court brief filed by Sens. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, and Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican. The senators said the fund posed an “immediate and dire threat” to the constitutional order and was designed to provide payouts to people involved in Jan. 6. Brinkema said the public interest in the case was “very, very strong” in favor of the plaintiffs.

Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, which represents the plaintiffs, called the ruling “a significant victory for the Constitution, the rule of law, and people in America.” She said the order ensures taxpayer money cannot be distributed through what she described as an unlawful scheme while the court considers the constitutional issues in the case.