Judge warns DOJ not to ‘play possum’ with ‘anti-weaponization’ fund it says is dead

Justice DepartmentJudge warns DOJ not to ‘play possum’ with ‘anti-weaponization’ fund it says is deadThe Trump administration has said the fund isn’t moving forward, but the president has said he’d like to pay purported victims “the kind of money that they deserve.”Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00The Trump administration has given mixed messages about the status of the recently created "anti-weaponization" fund.Tayfun Coskun / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJune 10, 2026, 10:46 PM EDTBy Ryan J. ReillyWASHINGTON — A federal judge denied a request to temporarily halt the Trump administration’s proposed “anti-weaponization” fund but warned the Justice Department not to misrepresent the status of the $1.8 billion fund, which acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress is not moving forward.Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.“Don’t play possum with this court,” U.S. District Judge Richard Leon warned a Justice Department attorney in court Wednesday afternoon after he rejected the temporary restraining order request from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, one of several groups seeking to block the fund.In addition to Blanche’s remarks to lawmakers about the status of the fund, the Justice Department said in a court filing last week that the initiative is “not going forward.”President Donald Trump told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” in an interview that aired Sunday that he loved the idea of the “anti-weaponization” fund and that if it were up to him, he would pay purported victims of “weaponization” the “kind of money that they deserve.”Add NBC News to GoogleTrump says ‘I’d pay’ anti-weaponization fund applicants ‘the kind of money they deserve’06:40The fund stemmed from an agreement between Trump’s private attorneys and the Trump administration over a $10 billion suit filed by Trump, two of his sons and the Trump Organizatio...