US justice department says it will abide by court ruling halting Trump’s $1.8bn ‘anti-weaponisation’ fund
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) says it will comply with a court order halting the Trump administration’s $1.8bn (£1.3bn) fund aimed at compensating people who claim they were treated unfairly by the federal government during previous administrations.
In a statement on Monday, the ministry said it “strongly disagrees with the decision” made by the court.
Last month, the administration announced a fund it called the “anti-proliferation fund” as part of a settlement agreement with US President Donald Trump over the leak of tax returns.
Both Republicans and Democrats criticized it as a “slush fund,” and a federal judge temporarily blocked its creation until a June 12 hearing.
The Justice Department defended the fund’s creation on Monday, saying in a statement on
The Justice Department said the fund is “open to anyone who has been armed, targeted, or persecuted, whether Democrat, Republican, Conservative, Independent, or otherwise.”
The White House forwarded its comments on the decision to the Ministry of Justice.
U.S. Judge Leonie Brinkema last week temporarily stopped rendering $1.776 billion government fund to compensate individuals who claim to have been targets of political investigations by previous administrations.
The fund was designated for “victims of the law” seeking compensation, and its eligibility appeared broad.
Brinkema barred the justice department from taking any steps to stand up or operate the fund, including processing or distributing claims, until a preliminary hearing on June 12.
Responding to the judge’s two-page decision last week, a Ministry of Justice spokesman said they were “extremely confident” in the legality of the plan.
The decision came after two people who claimed the fund was discriminatory filed a lawsuit in Virginia. The plaintiffs said they were targeted by the Trump administration for political revenge but believed they would not be allowed to seek damages.
Several Trump supporters on trial for the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, have expressed plans to file claims: as well as members of Trump’s former inner circle.
Many Republican lawmakers, as well as Democrats, have voiced opposition to the fund since it was announced last month by Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche (Trump’s former personal attorney who served as the nation’s attorney general following the firing of Pam Bondi in April).
Over the weekend, former US Vice President Mike Pence, who served as Trump’s second in command during his first term, He harshly criticized the fundHe said it was “a bad idea from the beginning” and should be abandoned.
