A federal judge is again directing the Justice Department to formally address whether the Trump administration's "Anti-Weaponization Fund" is defunct, as the agency has previously claimed. The order, filed by District Judge Leonie Brinkema, comes after the Justice Department declined to provide a signed declaration verifying the $1.8 billion fund is not moving forward.
Brinkema expressed dissatisfaction with the DOJ's reliance on Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's recent congressional testimony as sufficient proof the fund is no longer active. "That the defendants have refused to accord a genuine degree of trustworthiness to their representations about the Fund not going forward is particularly concerning because of the President's consistent support for the Fund and Acting Attorney General Blanche's acknowledgement that the Fund remains 'important,'" Brinkema wrote.
The judge is demanding that the DOJ file new documentation within the coming weeks and indicated that Blanche may be required to answer questions about the fund's future in a deposition. The "Anti-Weaponization Fund" was announced in May by the Justice Department. It was proposed as a mechanism to compensate individuals who alleged they were wrongly targeted under the Biden administration. The fund was part of a proposed agreement for Donald Trump to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS and two civil claims totaling $230 million. These claims were related to the Russia collusion investigation and the 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago estate. The proposal generated accusations of self-dealing and drew bipartisan criticism over the potential use of taxpayer money for individuals involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.