Judge temporarily blocks Trump DOJ’s $1.8 billion fund

A federal judge in Virginia temporarily blocked the Justice Department from creating or operating the Trump administration’s $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund, including transferring money, processing claims or paying out awards. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema set a June 12 hearing in Alexandria on whether to keep the injunction in place. The fund was created by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as part of a settlement of Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax records. Critics in Congress and in court have questioned whether the program has legal authority or enough oversight, while a separate judge in Florida agreed to review the settlement tied to the fund.