The Daily Fuckup

The Justice Department announced the Anti-Weaponization Fund on May 18, 2026 as part of a settlement resolving President Donald J. Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns. The agreement covered Trump, Donald J. Trump, Jr., Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization. Under the deal, the plaintiffs were to receive a formal apology, not cash; the new fund was the vehicle the department said would handle claims from other people who said they had been harmed by government “weaponization” or “lawfare.” ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-anti-weaponization-fund))

The paperwork laid out more than a slogan. It said the fund would have five members appointed by the attorney general, would report quarterly on relief awarded, and could issue formal apologies and monetary relief. It also said the fund would stop processing claims no later than December 1, 2028. But the public record shows the commission was never formed, which meant the claims process never got off the ground. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-anti-weaponization-fund))

A federal judge in Virginia temporarily blocked the fund on May 29, then extended the block on June 12. The order stopped the government from transferring money into the fund, considering claims, or paying anything out while the litigation continued. By that point, no claims had been accepted and no money had been paid. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/8baaee6aa8d83f0ad2905f5f8d457dec))

So the cleanest way to describe the program right now is simple: DOJ announced it, wrote a process for it, and then got shut down before it could start operating. The fund exists in paper form. It did not reach the stage where anyone could file under it, and it has not paid a single claimant. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-anti-weaponization-fund))