Judge temporarily blocks payouts from Trump's $1.776 billion
'anti-weaponization' settlement fund
[May 30, 2026]
By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the
Trump administration from proceeding with a new $1.776 billion
settlement fund for the Republican president's allies who believe they
were victims of a weaponized government, halting its formation or any
potential payouts for at least the next two weeks.
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, scheduled a
June 12 hearing for arguments on whether to extend her order barring the
government from moving forward with its “Anti-Weaponization Fund” while
pending litigation challenges it. The administration created the fund to
resolve President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue
Service over the leak of his tax returns.
A Justice Department spokesperson said it's “extremely confident” that
the fund is legally supported “by ample precedent,” including from
settlements during the administration of President Barack Obama, a
Democrat. "We will not allow the policy preferences of judges to
interfere with our efforts to provide restitution to victims of lawfare,”
the spokesperson said in a statement.
The White House declined to comment on the judge’s ruling, referring
questions to the Justice Department.
The judge, who was nominated to the bench by President Bill Clinton, a
Democrat, gave the government another week to respond in writing to the
plaintiffs' arguments in favor of freezing the fund's creation and
operation, including any payments in or out of it.
The fund has generated a fierce backlash since it was announced last
week, with even Republicans pressing acting Attorney General Todd
Blanche over the eligibility considerations and the possibility that
even violent rioters at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, would be free
to seek compensation.
Also on Friday, the federal judge in Florida overseeing Trump's lawsuit
against the IRS ordered Trump's attorneys to respond to “grievous
allegations” by settlement critics that the president abandoned his
claims to avoid the court's scrutiny of an illegal deal. U.S. District
Judge Kathleen Williams gave them until June 12 to respond in writing to
allegations of collusion and whether the case should be reopened because
the court was the “victim of a fraud.”
The Justice Department hasn’t formed the five-member commission that
will decide on payout criteria, so there has been no money paid out yet
or claims accepted.
Plaintiffs’ attorneys from the legal advocacy group Democracy Forward
are seeking a court order halting the fund’s implementation and
preventing the Trump administration from disbursing any payouts from it.
The federal suit claims there is no legal basis or accountability behind
the fund.
“President Trump and his allies have long accused Democrats of using the
government and the legal system as political weapons,” plaintiffs'
lawyers wrote. “In doing so, the (Trump) administration fails to
acknowledge the unprecedented campaign of targeting individuals and
entities for retribution on personal and ideological grounds that it has
carried out.”
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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks to a reporter outside
the White House, Wednesday, May 27, 2026, in Washington. (AP
Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Brinkema said it’s important to maintain the status quo — for at
least the next two weeks — and to ensure that no funds are
“irreversibly disbursed” from the fund. Her order temporarily
prohibits the Trump administration from transferring any money to
the fund, considering any claims or disbursing any money from it.
The Virginia lawsuit's plaintiffs include a fired prosecutor and a
college professor acquitted of assaulting federal agents at a
protest.
“The unlawfulness that has imbued the Anti-Weaponization Fund from
its inception requires that it be wholly dismantled,” the suit says.
At least two other lawsuits, both filed separately in Washington,
also are challenging the fund's creation. A lawsuit filed by the
advocacy group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
refers to the fund as “a jaw-dropping act of presidential
corruption.” Two police officers who helped defend the Capitol from
a mob of Trump supporters sued last week.
During a congressional hearing, Blanche wouldn’t rule out the
possibility that rioters who assaulted police on Jan. 6 could be
eligible for fund payouts.
Nearly 1,600 people were charged with Capitol riot-related federal
crimes. Over 1,200 were convicted and sentenced before Trump handed
out mass pardons, commuted prison sentences and ordered the
dismissal of every pending Jan. 6 criminal case last year.
One of the plaintiffs in the Virginia case is former Assistant U.S.
Attorney Andrew Floyd, who prosecuted Capitol riot cases in
Washington before he was fired last year by then-Attorney General
Pam Bondi. Floyd believes his firing was retaliation for his Jan. 6
work.
“The President’s targeting of me and others involved in January 6
prosecutions leaves our country in a very dark place, sending a
message that insurrection and sedition will be protected (and even
encouraged) as long as it is on behalf of this administration,”
Floyd said in a court filing.
Another plaintiff is California State University Channel Islands
professor Jonathan Caravello, who was acquitted of an assault
charge. He was accused of throwing a tear gas canister at federal
agents during a 2025 protest against an immigration raid at a
Camarillo, California, cannabis farm.
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Associated Press writers Darlene Superville, Alanna Durkin Richer
and Eric Tucker contributed to this report.
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