Judge wants proof that top DOJ officials are ‘not moving forward’ with plans for an Anti-Weaponization Fund

A federal judge has indefinitely blocked Donald Trump’s administration from implementing a nearly $1.8 billion compensation fund for his political allies after officials claimed they were “not moving forward” with the plans.

Friday’s injunction from Virginia District Judge Leonie Brinkema extends a previous order that prevented the government from “taking any further action pursuant to the creation or operation of the Anti-Weaponization Fund” — including transferring money to it, considering any claims and mailing any checks while a legal challenge plays out.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and the Department of Justice insisted the administration would follow the court’s order and abandon plans for the fund, but officials have also suggested that they are still looking for pathways to issue massive taxpayer-funded payouts to alleged “victims” of government “weaponization,” including January 6 rioters and close allies of the president.

The now-blocked $1.1776 billion fund – announced as part an agreement between the president and the IRS after he sued his own administration for $10 billion — would be used to settle claims from those alleged “victims.”

Several lawsuits were filed in response, including a case brought by a career federal prosecutor who says he was fired in retaliation for working on cases against members of the mob that broke into the Capitol on January 6, 2021 — a history that the Trump administration has sought to rewrite with the erasure of hundreds of convictions.

Those former defendants quickly lined up to file multi-million dollar claims with the now-defunct fund.

Brinkema, who is overseeing the case from former prosecutor Andrew Floyd, issued her initial injunction late last month. That injunction was set to expire Friday.

Despite sworn statements to members of Congress and in court that the fund was “not moving forward,” the Justice Department continued to fight Brinkema’s order and argued that the case against the administration is now moot.

Brinkema, however, wasn’t buying it.

During a brief hearing on Friday, she gave the Justice Department one week to provide her with evidence that the fund has been permanently abandoned.

“I’m heartened that the injunction continues to prevent $1.776 billion in taxpayer money from being used to pay off those who attacked our democracy,” Floyd said in a statement.

“I will continue this litigation to ensure that this unconstitutional fund does not erase the accountability imposed by judges and impartial jurors — and the hard-earned work of the victims, witnesses, law enforcement officers, and prosecutors who delivered it,” he said.

While the fund faces immense legal and political hurdles, top Republicans and administration officials have already indicated that the government could turn to an existing fund to start settling hundreds of lawsuits and other claims brought by Trump’s allies.

A judge overseeing another lawsuit against the fund warned the Justice Department this week that the government could face legal consequences if the fund returns.

“Don’t play possum with this court,” Washington, D.C. District Judge Richard Leon told lawyers on Wednesday.

“Tools to provide restitution to victims of government weaponization have always been in place across both Democrat and Republican administrations,” a spokesperson for the Justice Department told The Independent.

“The fact that the media is now just realizing this does not mean it’s some new, novel campaign within the Department,” the person said.

Trump, meanwhile, has said he “loves” the fund and called it a “beautiful thing.”

“If it was up to me, I’d pay them the kind of money that they deserve,” he told NBC’s Kristen Welker on Meet the Press. “I think the weaponization fund is a great idea, and so do many other Republicans. You have to get it approved. If they get it approved, that’s great. If they don’t get it approved, I’d be disappointed.”

While the administration is blocked from creating the “slush fund,” judges and lawmakers have not yet stopped the president from receiving sweeping immunity from tax investigations as part of his deal to end his lawsuit with the IRS.

Blanche, who signed the one-page agreement that blocks the federal government from investigating potential tax claims against the president, told members of Congress that “nothing has changed” about the plan.

The judge overseeing that lawsuit is considering re-opening the case — and could sanction the parties if the court finds that Trump filed a “frivolous lawsuit for the sole purpose of forcing a settlement” that bails out his family members and their businesses, all on taxpayers’ dime.