by Kevin Killough
A federal judge has blocked a $1.8 million fund meant to compensate people who say they were targeted unjustly by the Biden administration.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema said the Trump administration is barred from taking actions on the fund, including awarding any payouts, until arguments in a legal challenge by a coalition of people and entities are heard. The hearing is set for June 12, when Brinkema will consider a longer or permanent pause on the fund.
The lawsuit argues the fund is unconstitutional and violates federal laws.
The Department of Justice announced the creation of a $1.7 billion “anti-weaponization fund” to compensate President Donald Trump’s supporters whom the administration believes received unfair treatment under the Biden DOJ.
The announcement came the same day that the DOJ filed a motion to dismiss President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax records. Trump initially filed a $10 billion suit against the IRS over the 2023 incident in which then-IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn published his tax returns. Littlejohn pleaded guilty and received a five-year prison sentence.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche called the fund a “a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress,” according to the Associated Press.
Florida’s Democratic U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel said she is “fighting” to end the fund “for good.”
“Floridians deserve lower costs and honest government, not taxpayer-funded kickbacks to Trump allies and extremists who attacked our democracy,” she said on X.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on social media, “Trump’s slush fund for fascists was blocked and a rogue ICE agent was just arrested for shooting an immigrant. Happy Friday!”
According to The Hill, Newsom said this week that if any Californian got money from the fund, it would be taxed at 100%.
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Kevin Killough is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is the digital editor of The Star News Network and contributed to this story.
