DOJ snubs judge’s demand on anti-weaponization fund, cites ‘serious separation of powers concerns’

Judge Ruling on the Biden Tapes Is a Big Win for Open Government

Schiff silent on Biden-era Newsom probe report as California AG claims DOJ 'weaponization'

California AG Bonta claims Trump weaponized the DOJ against Gov. Newsom, calling the federal probe political persecution despite California origins.

US brokers Israel-Hezbollah truce despite Israeli official's demand that 'all of Lebanon' burn

President Donald Trump signed the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding on Wednesday evening, immediately opening the Strait of Hormuz to the free flow of oil and setting the stage for a final peace deal with Tehran.While the markets responded positively, there was a great deal of consternation both in the U.S. and in Israel about the terms of the deal, particularly the provisions requiring money for Iran's reconstruction and the "immediate and permanent termination of military operations on all fronts, including in Lebanon."'For every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep.'The fragile peace has been undermined by more than just criticism on the sidelines.Disregarding the demands for a cessation of hostilities, Hezbollah and Israel engaged in a brutal exchange on Thursday and Friday that has claimed multiple lives and delayed the permanent peace talks. This bloodletting has, however, since been put on pause, owing to a truce reportedly brokered by the United States and regional actors.The Israel Defense Forces announced late on Thursday that an explosive Hezbollah drone had detonated near Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, injuring four soldiers. Another terrorist drone reportedly detonated several minutes later, injuring another Israeli soldier.RELATED: Exclusive: JD Vance minces no words with BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey about Israeli influence, Iran deal Jalaa MAREY/AFP/Getty ImagesThe Hezbollah strikes turned deadly early Friday morning when a suspected anti-tank missile struck a tank belonging to the 401st Armored Brigade's 52nd Battalion in Lebanon's Kfar Tebnit area, killing all four crew members, reported the Times of Israel.Israel, in turn, launched numerous strikes — over 150 by early Friday — against alleged terrorist targets in Southern and Eastern Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he had instructed the IDF to "strike Hezbollah with full force" and reiterated that "Israel will remain in the security zone in Southern Lebanon for as long as required to protect the settlements in the north."The Lebanese health ministry claimed that the Israeli strikes killed at least 47 people — at least 18 of whom were reportedly civilians — and wounded nearly 100 others since midnight.That toll was evidently not nearly enough for Israel National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who stated, "For every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep. All of Lebanon must burn!""With all due respect to the Americans, Israel must make it clear to the entire world that the blood of our sons and the security of our citizens are not forfeit. All of Lebanon must burn," continued Ben-Gvir, one of the most outspoken critics of Trump's deal with Iran. "In the Middle East, you don’t win with measured responses and restraint — you need to go berserk. To obliterate. To crush the terror.."Three regional officials told the Associated Press that the U.S., Qatar, and Iran brokered a truce between Lebanon and Israel — a truce that a senior U.S. official told Reuters was set to begin Friday at 4 p.m. local time."Hezbollah and Israel have agreed to a ceasefire," said the American official on background. "We understand that after the exchange of fire ⁠earlier today, Israel and Hezbollah are ⁠now in a ceasefire."A Hezbollah leader said in a statement to CNN that while the group's fighters will respect the ceasefire, the movement and actions of Israeli forces in Lebanon will receive "a suitable response."The IDF said that it will continue its operations in Lebanon."These attacks by Hezbollah are violations of the ceasefire. They prove that Hezbollah’s goals remain the same: to remain on Israel’s borders and to plan and carry out attacks on our civilians," said an IDF spokesman. "This is not a reality we can accept, and this is exactly why the IDF continues to operate in Southern Lebanon."Earlier this week, Trump bemoaned the loss of life in Lebanon — where the health authority reports that 3,980 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since March 2 — saying that "the Lebanon piece is something we'll have to work on a little bit."Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

'Crickets' as Todd Blanche just hours away from violating judge's order

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is just hours away from violating a judge's order on President Donald Trump's January 6 slush fund after thumbing his nose at it for weeks.U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema gave Blanche and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent until Friday afternoon to file sworn declarations confirming the $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund is dead.As of Friday morning, nothing had been filed.Journalist Scott MacFarlane wrote that he had been checking the court docket all morning."Crickets," MacFarlane wrote.Brinkema extended her block on the fund on June 12 after ruling that Blanche's verbal claims to Congress were insufficient. She demanded written sworn declarations from both officials.The judge noted that Trump himself said after Blanche's testimony that he wanted to move forward with the fund — comments she said carried "a lot of weight," MS NOW reported.The fund was created through a private settlement of Trump's lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. Critics noted it could pay Jan. 6 defendants, including those convicted of assaulting police officers.Pooja Boistute, senior counsel at advocacy group Democracy Forward, said after the June 12 hearing she "honestly" did not believe Blanche and Bessent would comply."I think it will tell...a lot to the court that they have represented that they're terminating the fund, and there's no evidence to support that," Boistute said.It is not the only court where Blanche faces jeopardy. Georgetown Law professor and former senior Justice Department official Marty Lederman argued this week that a federal judge already has sufficient evidence to order a criminal contempt trial against Blanche over deportation flights that defied a court order in March 2025."While mistruths and obfuscation may be the standard playbook for the Trump-Vance administration, it is telling that they have repeatedly refused to say under oath that the Slush Fund is truly dead," said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward.If Blanche and Bessent file a sufficient declaration, the preliminary injunction will remain in place. If they don't, the court has said the case will proceed with the injunction in place.

Trump DOJ thrashes court's demand to officially declare that 'slush fund' is dead

President Donald Trump's Department of Justice thrashed a federal judge in a new court filing for demanding that DOJ officials and two Trump cabinet secretaries officially declare that Trump's "anti-weaponization" slush fund is officially dead. Last month, the Trump administration announced plans to create a $1.776 billion fund to pay claims from people who allege they were wrongfully prosecuted by the federal government. Several of Trump's allies, including formerly convicted members of the Proud Boys, declared that they would seek restitution from the fund, which sparked significant bipartisan pushback. Political analysts and experts have described the fund as a "slush fund" because the Trump DOJ would have full control over who is eligible for payments, and the legal paperwork establishing the fund states that the federal government bears no responsibility if crimes are committed by people who receive payments. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told the House and Senate judiciary committees that the administration is no longer pursuing the fund, but has refused to put that in writing. On Friday, the Trump DOJ told a judge in the Eastern District of Virginia that it won't abide by a demand to declare the fund dead. The DOJ argued in the filing that multiple Trump administration officials have said the fund is not moving forward, and those past statements should satisfy the court's demand. It also attached a copy of Blanche's testimony to Congress as evidence of its claims. "Such declarations are unnecessary, and the compelled testimony of senior officials from the Executive Branch implicates serious separation of powers concerns," the DOJ wrote in its filing. "Nor is there any basis for the court to compel testimony from the Associate Attorney General and two Cabinet members. The point of Article III limitations on judicial review is to prevent such overreach," it added.

DOJ Refusing to Release Old Epstein Emails That Could Expose Trump

The Department of Justice claims that it’s released every document that’s required under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. But the agency previously said it collected more than six million pages of material during its investigation into Jeffrey Epstein, and it only released around three million. So what’s in the rest of the Epstein files?The DOJ claims that the other three million pages are either duplicates, unrelated to Epstein, or protected by legal privilege. But because of the administration’s lack of transparency in regard to Epstein, many are concerned that something is still being hidden.CBS News analyzed the available files to try to figure out which documents appeared to be missing, and found a number of notable omissions: questionable redactions, missing emails from older accounts, lack of massage scheduling records after 2009, missing prison surveillance footage, and more.Notably, most of the emails in the released files were from an email account created in 2008, around the time Epstein went to jail: jeevacation@gmail.com.But Epstein had other, older email addresses that were mentioned in only a few, highly redacted publicly released files. One missing account, littlestjeff@yahoo.com, was from the early 2000s—the time when Epstein was most in touch with Donald Trump.Trump has repeatedly claimed that he is innocent of all charges when it comes to his connection with Epstein. But, as this analysis by CBS reveals, we may still be missing major pieces of the puzzle.

DOJ rebuffs judge's demand to state "anti-weaponization" fund is dead

A senior Justice Department official called a judge's demand for a declaration on the status of the "anti-weaponization" fund "unnecessary."

DOJ Rejects Judge’s Request to Certify $1.8 Billion Fund Nixed

The Justice Department rebuffed a US judge’s invitation for top officials to submit a signed statement under oath that a $1.8 billion fund for what the administration described as victims of political “weaponization” will not happen.