Judge Says Challenge to ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ Is Moot as DOJ Backs Away

A federal judge on Wednesday declined to temporarily block President Donald Trump’s proposed $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” saying the request was moot because the Justice Department said it is no longer moving forward with the fund.

U.S. District Judge Richard Leon said statements from Justice Department officials and court filings showed the administration had abandoned the proposal. The request to halt the fund had been filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

The fund was created as part of a settlement agreement between Trump and the Justice Department stemming from a lawsuit filed by Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of their tax returns. The fund would have allowed individuals who claim they were subjected to lawfare or weaponized prosecution by the government to seek redress through a claims process.

During a hearing, Leon questioned Justice Department attorney Andrew Block about why the administration had not formally rescinded the fund. Block said he did not know. The judge also pressed Block on Trump’s public statements supporting the proposal while acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has told lawmakers the fund would not move forward.

“Don’t play ​possum with this court,” Leon told Block.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonprofit, filed the lawsuit in May.

The ruling does not affect a separate temporary restraining order issued by a federal judge in Virginia last week. That order is scheduled to expire Friday, when further arguments are expected to be heard.

After the judge’s ruling in the Virginia case, the DOJ said it would abide by the court’s ruling.

“The Department of Justice disagrees strongly with the decision on the Anti-Weaponization Fund put forth by the United States District Court Judge in the Eastern District of Virginia, wherein the Court stated that, under no circumstances, may the Department of Justice proceed with the Anti-Weaponization Fund recently established in order to make up for the tremendous abuse, harm, and hate unfairly shown to so many people,” the DOJ posted June 2 on X. “This Fund was open to anybody who was so weaponized, targeted, or persecuted, whether they were Democrat, Republican, Conservative, Independent, or otherwise.”

Reuters contributed to this report.