Overview
- U.S. District Judge Richard Leon told lawyers on Wednesday he will not grant an immediate order to block the fund after Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told Congress the Justice Department is “not moving forward,” but he warned the department not to mislead the court.
- A separate federal judge, Leonie M. Brinkema in the Eastern District of Virginia, has kept a temporary freeze on the fund in place and will hold a hearing on Friday to decide whether to extend that order.
- Plaintiffs including Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington have asked courts to require a written rescission and documentary proof because the fund’s charter remains in effect and no formal cancellation has been filed.
- Reporting has raised ethics concerns after a senior DOJ official, Patrick Davis, considered recusing himself so he could seek a payout based on prior congressional work, which plaintiffs cite as evidence the fund could create conflicts and opaque payments.
- The dispute grew from a May settlement in Trump v. IRS and has stalled Senate business, prompted bipartisan criticism, and left open the possibility that judges will issue binding injunctions or demand formal rescission before dismissing the remaining lawsuits.