Judge Rejects Claim Trump Anti-Weaponization Fund Is Dead
Judge Leonie Brinkema refused to accept the government's claim that the $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund is moot, declining to rule on a dismissal request.
A federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia, declined on Friday to accept the government's position that a $1.8 billion fund for compensating President Donald Trump's political allies is effectively dead, leaving in place her earlier order blocking the fund's operation.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema did not rule from the bench on the government's request to dismiss the lawsuit challenging the fund's formation. But she rejected the argument that the case has become moot because the administration says the fund will not go forward.
"The issues that underlie this case are still alive and kicking, in my view," Brinkema said.
The fund was created to resolve Trump's lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns. The proposal drew fierce bipartisan criticism, in part over the prospect that Trump supporters who attacked police officers during the January 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol could be eligible for payments. The controversy also threatened to derail Attorney General Todd Blanche's Senate confirmation. On August 2, Blanche issued a formal order terminating the fund after weeks of negotiations with two Republican senators who sought the commitment in writing before endorsing his nomination.
Justice Department attorney Andrew Block told the court the case is moot and that the mootness issue had been addressed at every stage. But Brinkema noted that Blanche's assurances have been undercut by the president and other administration officials, pointing to Trump's continued public support for the fund even as Blanche insisted it was finished.
"They contradict themselves all the time," the judge said.
The legal advocacy group Democracy Forward sued in May, asking the court to suspend the fund's implementation temporarily and bar the administration from disbursing any payouts. The plaintiffs argued the government cannot divert taxpayer money into what they characterized as a slush fund for enriching Trump's allies. Brinkema, nominated to the bench by Democratic President Bill Clinton, agreed in June to extend an order blocking the fund until further notice.
Democracy Forward attorney Pooja Boisture told the judge the administration would most likely proceed with the fund — "either in its current iteration or a new one" — if the order were lifted.
The plaintiffs include a fired prosecutor and a college professor acquitted of assaulting federal agents at a protest, along with the government watchdog Common Cause, the city of New Haven, Connecticut, and the National Abortion Federation, an association of abortion providers. Their attorneys described the scheme as an unprecedented, unlawful and corrupt attempt to manipulate the legal process and laws meant to prevent political interference.
Justice Department attorneys countered that the plaintiffs lack a legal basis for claims challenging a fund that "has never existed and will not exist," and urged the court to end what they called an inquisition.