Trump’s ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ hit with another legal challenge
By Devan Cole, CNN
(CNN) — The Trump administration’s newly created nearly $1.8 billion fund for allies of President Donald Trump who say they were wrongly targeted by the government was hit with a second lawsuit on Friday, adding to the growing legal and political backlash facing the White House.
Friday, a diverse group of people and organizations — including a former federal prosecutor and a prominent government watchdog group — asked a judge in Alexandria, Virginia, to block the Trump administration from distributing any money, arguing the fund is unconstitutional and violates a series of federal laws.
Among the plaintiffs in the case are Andrew Floyd, a former federal prosecutor who worked on criminal cases brought against people who participated in the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot, and John Caravello, a professor in California who was acquitted of charges that he assaulted a federal agent while protesting an immigration raid last year.
Also challenging the new fund is the city of New Haven, Connecticut, the National Abortion Federation and Common Cause, a watchdog group that frequently challenges controversial moves by the Trump administration.
The lawsuit comes two days after current and former police officers in Washington, DC, who defended the US Capitol during the riot sued to block implementation of the fund, arguing it could potentially be used to pay individuals who participated in the attack and finance various paramilitary organizations in the country – both of which they say would be unlawful.
The fund announced Monday was born out of an extraordinary settlement reached between the Trump administration and Trump, one of his adult sons and the Trump Organization in a lawsuit they brought in January over the unauthorized disclosure of Trump’s tax information years ago.
The fund, which will be run by five commissioners selected by the attorney general, will review claims submitted by people who say they were unfairly targeted by previous administrations. The massive pot of money is being drawn from the DOJ’s Judgment Fund, which is taxpayer money set aside by Congress for monetary settlements the government reaches.
In the new lawsuit, the plaintiffs specifically challenge the Trump administration’s decision to draw from the Judgment Fund for the new program, arguing it’s unlawful because the underlying legal case was “meritless” given the president’s unique role as both a plaintiff and the Executive Branch agencies that were named defendants in the lawsuit.
They also say the fund violates the Constitution by usurping Congress’ authority over the country’s purse strings, among other things.
“This latest attempt by the Trump-Vance administration to make grift great again is profoundly unlawful and will not withstand judicial scrutiny,” said Skye Perryman, the president and CEO of Democracy Forward and one of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit. “This lawsuit is about protecting the rule of law and preventing a dangerous abuse of government power, and we will keep showing up in court to hold this administration accountable.”
The new fund has drawn criticism from Democrats and even some members of Trump’s own party, with Senate Republicans saying this week that they were blindsided by it and at odds over how to rein it in, CNN reported.
During a private meeting with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Thursday, several senators had warned that the party’s major immigration enforcement bill could be derailed with the issue of the fund hanging over them, according to a person familiar with the matter, and hardly any members spoke up in the meeting to defend it.
The-CNN-Wire
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