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The Justice Department (DOJ) on Friday snubbed a federal judge’s demand to swear that a nearly $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund is dead, arguing the request raises “serious separation of powers concerns.”
Judge Leonie Brinkema indefinitely blocked the fund last Friday and issued a seven-day deadline for acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward to declare under penalty of perjury that it would not move forward “to avoid any further litigation.”
But DOJ attorneys declined to offer that commitment in writing, asserting on Friday that it should not be required to do so in order to have a lawsuit brought by a former federal prosecutor and others dismissed.
“Such declarations are unnecessary and the compelled testimony of senior officials from the Executive Branch implicates serious separation of powers concerns,” Woodward’s senior counsel Andrew Block wrote in a filing.
The president and CEO of Democracy Forward, which is representing the plaintiffs in this case, called the Justice Department’s filing “telling” in a statement.
“It is telling that even after the federal court gave them a week, the Acting Attorney General and other senior administration officials continue to refuse to say under oath that the Slush Fund is dead and won’t operate in the future,” Skye Perryman said. “Nor have they provided any information under oath about their compliance with the court’s prior directives.”
Blanche announced plans for the $1.776 billion compensation fund in mid-May following a settlement between the Trump family and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), saying it would be authorized to issue formal apologies and payments to individuals who claim to have “suffered weaponization and lawfare” by the federal government.
The proposal quickly faced criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle over who might stand to benefit from the payouts. While the administration insisted there was no partisan requirement for filing, some raised concerns that money would be funneled primarily toward President Trump’s allies.
The administration retreated as backlash intensified and Blanche told House lawmakers in early June that the fund was “not moving forward, ever.” DOJ attorneys made similar statements in two separate court filings, insisting it had “not been set up” and that any legal challenges were premature.
Block argued on Friday that those assertions should be satisfactory to the court, adding that sworn declarations should not factor into the judge’s decision-making.
“All these statements were made against the backdrop of serious penalties for falsity,” he wrote. “So there is no reason why declarations should affect the Court’s mootness analysis. Nor is there any basis for the court to compel testimony from the Associate Attorney General and two Cabinet members.”
The federal courts are closed on Friday for the Juneteenth holiday, so a response from Brinkema likely won’t come until Monday at the earliest.
Add as preferred source on Google Tags Democracy Forward Donald Trump Internal Revenue Service Judge Leonie Brinkema Scott Bessent Todd Blanche Todd BlancheCopyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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