DOJ declines to file sworn statement on anti-weaponization fund, citing separation-of-powers concerns
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The Justice Department told a federal judge it will not provide a sworn declaration that its proposed $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund will not proceed, arguing the request is unnecessary and raises constitutional issues.
A federal judge in Virginia extended a preliminary injunction that blocks a $1.8 billion fund the Justice Department announced in May as part of a settlement of former President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. The fund was described as a mechanism to compensate individuals the administration said were harmed by alleged prosecutorial overreach during the Biden presidency.
Judge Leonie Brinkema ordered Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to submit written, sworn declarations that the fund would not move forward before she would consider dismissing the lawsuit seeking a permanent block. In a filing on Friday, the Justice Department argued that providing such a declaration would be unnecessary and would raise “serious separation of powers concerns.”
"The Acting Attorney General has testified before Congress that the Fund is 'not going forward, period'... Undersigned counsel have twice signed briefs reaffirming that 'the Fund is not going forward,' and counsel for Defendants has twice said substantially the same thing in open court," DOJ attorney Andrew Block wrote.
Block added that the statements were made “against the backdrop of serious penalties for falsity.” Blanche had previously testified to a House panel that the fund was not moving forward, but did not provide a written sworn statement at that time. President Trump later said he wanted the fund to proceed, which the judge cited as a reason to request formal declarations from the officials.
The fund’s creation was announced as part of a settlement of Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit alleging that an IRS contractor leaked his tax records. Critics from both parties expressed concerns that the money could be used to compensate Trump allies, including individuals convicted of offenses related to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack.