The Daily Fuckup

The Trump administration’s plan to create an Anti-Weaponization Fund remains blocked after a June 12 court hearing in Alexandria, where U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said the government’s claim that the fund was dead was not enough on its own. The judge kept in place an order stopping the fund from operating while the case continues and said the administration must put its abandonment claim in sworn filings.

The fund came out of a May 18 settlement announcement by the Justice Department in Trump v. Internal Revenue Service, a case brought by Donald J. Trump, Donald J. Trump, Jr., Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization over the leak of tax-return information. DOJ said the deal would set up a $1.776 billion process to hear claims from people who say they were harmed by government “lawfare” or “weaponization,” with the money to come from the Judgment Fund and the program to be administered by five members appointed through the settlement structure. The plaintiffs were to receive an apology, not money, and the settlement papers said unused funds would revert to the federal government. ([justice.gov](https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-anti-weaponization-fund?utm_source=openai))

The court fight began almost immediately. On May 29, Brinkema temporarily barred the administration from moving ahead with payouts while litigation played out. At the June 12 hearing, the judge extended that block after government lawyers said the fund would not proceed, but plaintiffs’ lawyers pressed for a formal record. Brinkema rejected the government’s mootness argument and required sworn declarations backing up the claim that the fund will not be implemented. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/8baaee6aa8d83f0ad2905f5f8d457dec?utm_source=openai))

That leaves the administration in a narrow spot: it says the fund is being dropped, but the court has not let it treat that statement as the end of the matter. Until the sworn filings are in and the court acts again, the fund stays blocked and no claims can be processed. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/d8345ce8f5c7f8062b858e54c396c450?utm_source=openai))