WASHINGTON, D.C.: A U.S. judge on May 29 temporarily stopped President Donald Trump's administration from creating a nearly US$1.8 billion fund meant to compensate people Trump says were victims of government "weaponization."
The order, issued by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in the Eastern District of Virginia, blocks the administration from taking any further steps to establish or operate the fund while she reviews additional legal arguments. The order will stay in place at least until June 12.
The Justice Department had announced the creation of an "Anti-Weaponization Fund" last week as part of a deal to settle Trump's lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax records.
The plan was to create a $1.776 billion fund, managed by a five-member commission, that would provide payments to people who can show they were victims of what Trump and his allies call "lawfare" and "weaponization," terms they use for investigations and criminal cases against them.
The May 29 decision came after a lawsuit was filed by a group that said it had been targeted by the Trump-Vance administration as political or ideological opponents and claimed it would not qualify for payments from the fund.
Skye Perryman, head of Democracy Forward, the group that filed the lawsuit, said the ruling is a win for transparency, the rule of law, and the American public. She added that no administration has the authority to spend public money as part of a political reward program.
A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately comment. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has said there are no political requirements for receiving compensation.
The fund has caused criticism, including from some Republican lawmakers, who are concerned that people involved in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol could receive taxpayer-funded payments. Many critics have called it a "slush fund" that would reward Trump's political supporters.
The lawsuit from Democracy Forward is one of at least three legal challenges against the fund.
Judge Brinkema said the temporary order was needed to maintain the status quo and prevent the money from being spent before she considers the request for a longer restraining order.
The group bringing the lawsuit includes a former Justice Department prosecutor who handled January 6 cases and a California professor who was arrested during a protest against an immigration raid.
