Federal Judge Halts Trump’s $1.8 Billion Slush Fund in Major Blow
A federal judge on Friday temporarily suspended the Trump administration’s plans for a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund—an attempt to pay President Trump’s friends, allies, supporters, and anyone else who felt wronged by the previous administration.The order, sent down by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, states that the president is not allowed to pursue “the creation or operation of the Anti-Weaponization Fund, which includes the transferring of money to the Fund; the consideration of any claims submitted to the Fund; and the disbursing of any funds from the Fund.”The Department of Justice fund has been met with protest from both Democrats and Republicans alike for its deep conflicts of interest—given that this all came about after Trump sued his own IRS for $10 billion, then settled for this fund for people who acted in his name. This ruling came after former January 6 prosecutor Andrew Floyd and the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) sued the Trump administration on the grounds that the settlement was “a jaw-dropping act of presidential corruption,” which was “designed to funnel $1.776 billion in taxpayer dollars from the Treasury’s Judgment Fund to purported victims of what the President considers ‘lawfare’ and government ‘weaponization.’” The issue will be adjudicated on June 12, when Brinkema will decide whether to issue a more lasting suspension. This story has been updated.
