A federal judge rejected an emergency request to halt the Trump administration's proposed 1.8 billion dollar compensation fund on Wednesday but delivered a sharp rebuke to the Justice Department for creating confusion about the initiative's status.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon denied the temporary restraining order filed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington and other groups seeking to block the fund. But during the hearing, Leon pressed the Justice Department over its murky communications, telling a DOJ attorney bluntly, "Don't play possum with this court."
The tension stems from competing claims about whether the fund is actually dead. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress last week that the fund is "not moving forward," and the Justice Department filed court documents repeating that position. Yet President Trump contradicted that message in a television interview aired Sunday, saying he loved the idea of the fund and would personally like to see it pay what he believes are rightful victims of "weaponization."
Leon questioned why the Justice Department had not formally rescind the executive order establishing the fund rather than relying on informal statements to lawmakers and vague court filings. When Justice Department official Andrew Block appeared unable to answer, Leon pressed harder, noting the peculiarity of the entire arrangement.
The 1.8 billion dollar fund emerged from a settlement between Trump's private attorneys and his own administration over a lawsuit filed by Trump, his two sons, and the Trump Organization. That suit, valued at 10 billion dollars, stems from the leak of Trump's federal tax returns years ago, which led to a five-year prison sentence for a former IRS contractor.
A separate federal judge already issued a temporary injunction blocking the Justice Department from taking any action on the fund after lawsuits were filed by multiple parties, including a former Justice Department prosecutor who investigated January 6 and was later fired.
Leon acknowledged the unusual nature of the case itself. "This whole case is highly unusual, to say the least," the judge said from the bench.
Author Sarah Mitchell: "A judge can spot an evasion from a mile away, and Leon clearly saw one here. The Trump administration needs to pick a lane: cancel the fund properly or own it openly."
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