Judge temporarily halts payout from Trump administration’s Anti-Weaponization Fund
by Mary McCue Bell · The Washington TimesThe Trump administration’s $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge in Virginia, putting any plans to compensate people who claim the federal government improperly targeted them on hold.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema issued an injunction Friday blocking the Anti-Weaponization Fund. She forbade the administration from taking any action “pursuant to the creation or operation of the Anti-Weaponization Fund, which includes the transferring of money to the Fund; the consideration of any claims submitted to the Fund; and the disbursing of any funds from the Fund.”
Former federal prosecutor Andrew Floyd, the lead plaintiff among several, filed an original complaint to “halt and set aside the creation and operation of this lawless Fund,” adding that it “has no congressional authorization, no basis in law, and no accountability.”
The complaint argues that “the Anti-Weaponization Fund is available only to claimants who assert that they were targeted by ‘Democrat’ administrations,” and that “[n]either the First Amendment nor the Equal Protection guarantee of our Constitution countenance such blatant partiality.” The fund outlines eligible “Lawfare” and “Weaponization” as actions taken by “Democrat elected officials, political and career federal employees, contractors, and agents” intended to target individuals for “improper and unlawful political, personal, and/or ideological reasons.”
The fund, the subject of intense debate, could potentially go toward anyone from Jan. 6 rioters to former President Joseph R. Biden’s son, Hunter Biden.
The Justice Department has yet to form the five-member commission that is tasked with determining payout criteria.
The judge set a hearing for June 12 for arguments over whether to extend the pause setting up the fund and issuing payouts, as it is facing litigation over its legality.
The fund was created as part of a settlement agreement between President Trump and the Internal Revenue Service, in which Mr. Trump dropped his $10 billion lawsuit over the leak of his tax returns. The Justice Department then established the fund as part of the settlement.
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Mary McCue Bell
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