Justice Department Says It Will ‘Abide by’ Court Order To Halt ‘Weaponization Fund’ Amid Legal Challenge

The Justice Department says it will “abide by” a federal judge’s order to not issue payouts for those who claim to be victims of legal “weaponization.” Democrats hope they can win the support of enough of their Republican colleagues to put into law that no similar funds can be created in the future. President Trump’s “anti-weaponization fund” arose from his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS for illegal disclosure of his tax returns. Rather than take the money himself, he and his administration planned to dole out $1.776 billion worth of taxpayer money to people who claimed to have been victimized by the federal legal system. The backlash to the fund was swift, with Republican lawmakers raising concerns that Mr. Trump would try to reward people who attacked the Capitol on January 6, 2021, or hand out checks to political allies with no congressional oversight. On May 21, the Senate majority leader, Senator John Thune, was forced to send his colleagues home for a week-long recess after around 20 GOP senators said they could not stomach the creation of the fund. Now, the Justice Department says it will comply with a judge’s order to not disburse money. “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,” the DOJ wrote on X Monday. “This Fund was open to anybody who was so weaponized, targeted, or persecuted, whether they were Democrat, Republican, Conservative, Independent, or otherwise. The Department will abide by the Court’s ruling,” the DOJ continued. The problem for some lawmakers may be that this agreement to “abide” by the court’s ruling may simply be an act of strategic retreat. The judge in the case did not declare the “anti-weaponization fund” illegal or unconstitutional. Rather, the judge simply issued an injunction blocking the disbursement of funds until June 12. As of Monday, the DOJ has filed no records with the court to indicate that it plans to drop the fund in its entirety. The Justice Department did not respond to a series of questions from the New York Sun about how it plans to move forward. Democrats seem to believe that the Trump administration is being too clever by half. On Monday, the minority leader, Senator Chuck Schumer, says he and his colleagues will still force Republicans to vote to kill the anti-weaponization fund during the upcoming amendment process for the Republicans’ immigration enforcement funding bill. “If Trump and Republicans are truly abandoning this corrupt scheme, they should have zero problem banning it in law,” Mr. Schumer wrote in a post on X Monday. “This week, Senate Democrats will push legislation to ban this slush fund and ensure no president can ever do this again. Trump’s word is nowhere near enough.”One lawmaker, Senator Jacky Rosen, says she already has three bills prepared to zero out the $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund and direct the money to one of three federal programs — food stamps, Medicaid, and law enforcement grants.“Instead of doing anything to help, Donald Trump is trying to create a $1.8 billion slush fund, paid for with YOUR tax dollars, to give money to his political allies — including January 6 rioters who beat up police officers. This is downright corrupt,” Ms. Rosen wrote on X Monday. “My bills will redirect the $1.8 BILLION slush fund money to SNAP, Medicaid, and law enforcement programs like those that help our local police departments hire more officers,” she continued. “You work hard for your money and I’ll be damned if I let Donald Trump or anyone else use it for a slush fund for their friends.”

Justice Department Says It Will ‘Abide by’ Court Order To Halt ‘Weaponization Fund’ Amid Legal Challenge

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