U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema on Friday extended an injunction and indefinitely blocked the Trump administration from establishing its $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund."
Brinkema gave the Justice Department one week to respond with a formal declaration, under penalty of perjury, stating no "Anti-Weaponization Fund" would be established, which she said could potentially clear the way to dismissing the case.
The fund was announced last month by the Department of Justice to compensate people who allege they were wrongly targeted under the Biden administration and was proposed in exchange for Trump agreeing to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS as well as two civil claims for $230 million related to the Russia collusion investigation he faced during his first term in office and the 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Lawyers with the Department of Justice have argued that the case is now moot, writing in a court filing last week that they would not move forward with the fund.
During the hearing Brinkema repeatedly pressed DOJ attorney Andrew Block on whether he knew why acting Attorney General Todd Blanche hasn't simply rescinded his previous order establishing the fund; Block responded, "Your honor, I don't," and said he does not have the ability to speak for Blanche. Brinkema said she "couldn't believe" that Block hadn't attempted to get an answer.
Brinkema pointed repeatedly to President Donald Trump's own shifting statements about the fund, including his pointed attack on Brinkema after she had temporarily paused the fund earlier this month, in which he referred to her as a "radical left judge." "When the president of the United States says he's disappointed that something is not going forward," Brinkema said, "that would only add to the evidence that the fund might "rear its head" in the future."
Brinkema said this week an unidentified individual had sent an application for money from the fund directly to the court and that officials had to send it back. She also read into the record an amicus brief submitted in the lawsuit by Sen. Cory Booker and Sen. Bill Cassidy that urged her to permanently block the fund, saying public interest in preventing the establishment of such a fund "is very strong," and questioning the concept of nearly $1.8 billion being directed to such a small subset of individuals.
Friday's injunction came two days after U.S. District Judge Richard Leon denied the request from the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington for a temporary restraining order, ruling that the case was moot due to the government's "multiple representations" in court filings and public statements that the DOJ is not moving forward with the fund.
Brinkema said she does not believe the "Anti-Weaponization Fund" is dead.
Allies of Trump are pursuing another plan to pay people they describe as "weaponization" victims.