Trump DOJ refuses to kill ‘anti-weaponization’ fund in sworn court declaration
The Trump administration refused to formally kill its nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund on Friday, declining to submit a court-requested sworn declaration to a federal judge acknowledging the program is dead.
Instead, the Department of Justice continued to rely on Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s congressional testimony that the administration is not moving forward with the fund.
In a notice to the court, the DOJ wrote, “Such declarations are unnecessary and the compelled testimony of senior officials from the Executive Branch implicates serious separation of powers concerns.”
The refusal by Blanche and the DOJ to put a pledge in writing not to create the fund — aimed at compensating those who believe they were the victims of alleged prosecutorial overreach —is likely to spark political backlash, especially on Capitol Hill where Blanche’s permanent nomination to head the department is pending.
The DOJ maintains its public statements — both in Blanche’s congressional testimony and in written court filings and hearings — should be sufficient. “All these statements were made under the backdrop of serious penalties for falsity,” they write. “So there is no reason why declarations should affect the Court’s mootness analysis.”
The refusal by Blanche and the DOJ to put a pledge in writing not to create the fund — aimed at compensating those who believe they were the victims of alleged prosecutorial overreach —is likely to spark political backlash, especially on Capitol Hill where Blanche’s permanent nomination to head the department is pending.
However, the department’s statements about serious penalties regarding Blanche’s testimony are somewhat misleading. One potential penalty is a criminal statute that punishes false statements made to Congress. That statute can only be enforced by the DOJ itself.
The other penalties the DOJ mentions in the filing are rules governing lawyers’ conduct in federal courts, which do not extend to criminal contempt or contemplate much beyond monetary sanctions.
The declaration — which was supposed to be signed under penalty of perjury by both Blanche and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent — was expected to come in response to a deadline set by U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema, who had requested written confirmation by Friday that the administration was not moving forward with the fund.
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Lisa Rubin is MS NOW’s senior legal reporter and a former litigator.
