DOJ says $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund is dead

The Trump administration has formally abandoned its plan to create a $1.8 billion fund to compensate individuals who claim they were targeted by previous Democratic administrations, according to court filings submitted by the Justice Department on Friday. The administration argued that lawsuits seeking to block the fund are now moot because the initiative is not moving forward.

In filings to federal judges in Virginia and Washington, D.C., Justice Department attorneys stated the fund "had not been set up and is now not going forward." They cited a statement made by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to a House appropriations subcommittee on June 2, where he said the department was "not moving forward with the fund, period." The administration argued this commitment should be considered binding, rendering the legal challenges without a live controversy.

The fund was announced last month as part of a settlement to resolve a lawsuit President Donald Trump filed against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax returns during his first term. The proposed fund was intended to provide compensation to people alleging they were victims of "lawfare and weaponization" by...