Judge halts Trump’s slush fund

An order from a federal judge in Virginia has temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's $1.8 billion slush fund.

Last week, Trump came to an "agreement" with the Justice Department that a fund would be set up to give settlements to those who felt they'd been wronged by the government. It prompted a lot of questions from members of Congress about whether taxpayer dollars would be given to those who staged a violent attack on the U.S. Capitol, tearing apart the historic building, terrorizing lawmakers and staff and beating police officers. Trump then withdrew his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS.

By Friday, the federal judge paused his new "fund."

"Because full briefing of the issue will enhance the ability of the Court to make a sound decision, plaintiffs Expedited Motion, is DENIED and defendants' request for additional time is GRANTED; however, to ensure that no funds are irreversibly disbursed from the Anti-Weaponziation Fund while plaintiffs' Motion is pending it is hereby ORDERED that defendants be and are ENJOINED from taking any further action pursuant to the creation or operation of the Anti-Weaponization Fund, which includes the transferring of money to the Fund; the consideration of any claims submitted to the Fund; and the dispersing of any funds from the Fund..." the order says.

A footnote also reads, "It is important that the status quo be maintained until plaintiffs' pending Motion has been resolved, especially as plaintiffs allege in their Expedited Motion that defense counsel 'was unable to provide assurances of how long [the] status quo would last' and declined plaintiffs' 'request that the government commit to not transferring money to the Fund or processing or paying claims until at least June 19 to allow for less compressed briefing in this case.'"

Judge Leonie Brinkema, an appointee by former President Bill Clinton, is presiding over the case in the Eastern District of Virginia.

The hearing is set for June 12, where she will hear arguments about whether the pause will last longer.

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