U.S. Judge Keeps Block on Trump Compensation Fund

A federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia has indefinitely extended an order blocking the Trump administration from creating a $1.8 billion compensation fund for people described as politically persecuted. The fund, aimed at compensating activists who said they were harmed by what they call a “weaponized government,” became the subject of a legal and political fight.

According to Bloomberg and AP, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress the administration was abandoning the fund after bipartisan criticism, and government lawyers argued the lawsuits had become moot. But the plaintiffs were not satisfied with those assurances, and Judge Leonie M. Brinkema said there was no certainty the fund would not return.

Brinkema ordered the administration to file, within a week, a formal signed statement from senior officials saying the fund would not be created and would not be revived. Until then, the block remains in place. She said Trump himself had continued to support the idea, which made a clear legal guarantee necessary.

The case also involves claims that the Trump administration promoted the fund as part of legal settlements tied to Internal Revenue Service disputes and the release of the president’s tax returns. The plaintiffs argue the government has no authority to use public money to finance a fund meant, in their view, to reward the president’s political supporters. The Justice Department told the court that the fund “has not been established and is not moving forward,” but Brinkema said that was not enough. She said final dismissal requires a clear, signed declaration from officials including Treasury Secretary and Todd Blanche to ensure the plan is permanently abandoned. In a separate case in Washington, another federal judge said the lawsuit may be moot, but warned the Justice Department not to try reviving the effort, telling its lawyer, “Don’t play games of impersonation before this court.”