Overview
- A federal judge in Washington on Wednesday declined to issue an emergency block after accepting Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s public statement that the fund is not moving forward but warned the DOJ not to “play possum.”
- A separate federal judge in Alexandria has an active temporary pause on the fund that remains in place pending a Friday hearing and could extend that order.
- Plaintiffs say Blanche’s oral testimony and unsworn statements are insufficient and are asking courts to require a formal written rescission of the settlement documents that created the fund.
- Reporting from multiple outlets, based on anonymous administration insiders, says some DOJ and White House officials are quietly exploring alternative ways to deliver payouts even as the department publicly says the plan is dead.
- No commission has been appointed, no claims have been accepted, and no money has been disbursed, but judges are weighing lawsuits that also ask whether the settlement was collusive and whether the original case should be reopened.