US judge denies request to temporarily halt Trump’s abandoned ‘weaponization’ fund
By Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff
WASHINGTON, June 10 (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Wednesday blocked a request to temporarily halt President Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion “weaponization” fund, citing Justice Department statements and court records indicating the administration had abandoned the fund.
• U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled that the request filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington was moot; Because even though Trump has repeatedly floated the idea of creating a pool of money to pay supporters who say they are victims of government abuses, the government has made clear there has been no progress on the fund. Leon described the case as “pretty unusual.”
• The fund emerged from a settlement agreement between Trump and the Justice Department regarding the president’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS. Leon asked Justice Department attorney Andrew Block why department leaders had not formally rescinded the funding. “I don’t know,” he said.
• Leon also asked Block to consider Trump’s statements of support for the fund and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s telling lawmakers that the fund was not moving forward. While Block argued that the administration may see it as important to fix payments and past government mistakes, he also said the fund would not move forward. “Don’t play possum in this courtroom,” Leon told Block before ending the hearing.
• The decision will not affect a separate order from a federal judge in Virginia who ordered a temporary halt to funding last week. This temporary order is set to expire Friday, when the judge in the case is scheduled to hear oral arguments.
(Reporting by Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff; Editing by Jamie Freed)
