A federal judge on Wednesday denied a request to block the Trump administration’s “anti-weaponization fund,” accepting the government’s argument that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche had already vowed not to move forward with the controversial $1.776 billion fund.
But in a court hearing, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon issued a warning to the Justice Department: “Don’t play possum with this court.”
Leon’s decision not to issue a temporary restraining order marked an early victory for the Justice Department in one of the lawsuits it’s facing over the anti-weaponization fund, which was unveiled last month to settle a suit that President Trump filed against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns. The fund — tasked with paying claims to alleged victims of government persecution — drew bipartisan pushbackwith Democrats casting it as a “slush fund” for Trump allies.
Blanche testified during a congressional hearing last week that the Justice Department is “not moving forward with the fund,” following pressure from Republicans and a ruling in a separate lawsuit that temporarily blocked the government from moving forward.
Since then, the government has argued that courts should reject other lawsuits against the fund because Blanche has already declared it dead, making the cases moot.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Leon sided with the government over the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which had filed a lawsuit calling the fund “brazenly illegal.” The judge said he is “not persuaded a live controversy remains,” citing the government’s representations that the fund is not moving forward.
Leon said he will decide separately about the group’s request for a preliminary injunction.
A lawyer for the group, Nikhel Sus, argued in court that the fund’s charter remains “in full force and effect,” and modifications must be made in writing by all parties. He said Blanche’s statement is not a legally valid rescission of the policy, and noted that Mr. Trump hasn’t said the fund is dead.
The judge noted that Mr. Trump “may be doing what he’s doing for political benefit.”
When the judge asked the Justice Department’s attorney, Andrew Block, why the government would not rescind the order creating the fund, he said he didn’t know: “All I know is that the acting attorney general has said the fund is not moving forward.”
Block argued the case is moot, there is no standing and it is not ripe for judicial review. He said no members of the five-person board to administer the fund have been appointed, no processes have been adopted, no claims have been submitted and no money has been sent out.
At one point, the lawyer for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington pointed out that Blanche declined to rescind the fund in writing when he testified to the House Appropriations Committee.
“This is highly unusual,” Sus said.
“This whole case is unusual, to say the least,” Leon said.