(WASHINGTON) — A federal judge in Virginia on Friday ordered a temporary freeze on any payments coming from the Trump administration’s “Anti-Weaponization Fund” as she considers arguments in a lawsuit brought by a former Jan. 6 prosecutor to block the fund permanently.
The order from U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema specifically bars the administration “from taking any further action pursuant to the creation or operation of the Anti-Weaponization Fund,” including transfers of money or consideration of claims from individuals who may argue they are victims of political persecution.
The $1.776 billion fund, announced last week, was established by the Justice Department to compensate those who allege they were wrongly targeted under the Biden administration.
It was created in exchange for President Donald Trump agreeing to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS as well as two civil claims for $230 million related to the Russia collusion investigation he faced during his first term in office and the 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago estate — sparking accusations of self-dealing and a bipartisan uproar over the possible use of taxpayer money to pay rioters who attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, pressed about the fund earlier this month, said, “Anybody in this country is eligible to apply if they believe they’re a victim of weaponization.”
Friday’s order did not weigh in on the legal merits of the case brought by former Jan. 6 prosecutor Andrew Floyd and other plaintiffs suing under the basis that the fund is unlawfully discriminatory under claims that it would only presumably benefit political allies of President Trump.
Judge Brinkema ordered an expedited briefing schedule in the lawsuit and a hearing set for Friday, June 12, to consider whether to grant a longer term freeze barring the administration from moving forward with the fund.
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