US judge temporarily blocks Trump’s $1.8 billion ‘anti-arms’ fund | Trump administration

A federal judge in Virginia temporarily blocked the Trump administration from moving money to a secret, loosely controlled $1.8 billion fund while a legal challenge was underway.

The order issued Friday by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema prohibits the government from “taking further action” in creating or operating the fund while legal arguments in a case challenging the fund continue. The order is intended “to ensure that no funds are irreversibly disbursed from the Arms Control Fund,” Brinkema wrote.

The Trump administration announced last week the creation of a $1.776 billion fund to resolve a $10 billion lawsuit filed by Donald Trump and his sons over the leak of Trump’s tax returns. The government has not taken preliminary steps to try to defend itself in the lawsuit, prompting accusations of improper collusion and corruption.

The government said any victim of government militarization can submit a claim to the fund, which will be monitored by four commissioners appointed by the U.S. attorney general and a fifth appointed in consultation with congressional leaders. All commissioners can be fired by Trump for any reason.

There are no restrictions on who can apply for money from the fund, and even Republicans have expressed outrage that Jan. 6 rioters who attacked police officers could receive compensation. The fund is also not required to disclose how much it paid to whom and why it did so, sparking criticism that it is essentially a slush fund.

The decision by Brinkema, a Bill Clinton appointee, follows a lawsuit filed by the watchdog group Democracy Forward seeking to block the fund. The decision aims to preserve the status quo and was necessary after the government refused to provide assurances that no funds would be transferred or paid before June 19 to allow adequate information on the matter.

“We are pleased that the court granted our request to ensure that the administration does not distribute taxpayer funds until our motion has been reviewed. The court acted quickly to stop this illegal scheme before the money could begin to flow out,” the plaintiffs said in a statement.

“The Department remains extremely confident in the legality of the Anti-Arms Fund, which is supported by numerous precedents, including Obama-era regulations. We will not allow the political preferences of judges to interfere with our efforts to provide relief to crime victims,” ​​a Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement.

Money for the fund will come from the judgment fund, a perpetual credit that the government can use to settle cases. Critics of the deal have said that using the judgment fund effectively allows Trump to circumvent Congress’s appropriations power.

The legal question remains open as to whether a plaintiff will have suffered sufficient harm to challenge the creation of the fund. The Democracy Forward lawsuit was filed on behalf of a former federal prosecutor who led a task force prosecuting January 6 protesters, a California professor acquitted of charges against immigration agents, the city of New Haven in Connecticut, as well as the watchdog group Common Cause and the National Abortion Federation.

The police officers who defended the Capitol on January 6 also filed a separate lawsuit in the District of Columbia challenging the fund.

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