A federal judge has temporarily stopped the creation of a $1.8bn government fund to compensate individuals who claimed to be targets of political investigation by previous presidential administrations.
Judge Leonie Brinkema barred the justice department from taking any steps to stand up or operate the fund – including processing or dispersing claims – until a preliminary hearing on 12 June.
Last week, the justice department announced it was establishing what it called the "anti-weaponisation fund".
Responding to the judge's two-page order on Friday, a spokesperson from the justice department said they were "extremely confident" in the legality of the scheme.
The fund was part of an agreement with President Donald Trump to end his $10bn lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over the leak of his tax returns.
While the memorandum creating the fund did not detail how individuals could qualify for payments, many Trump supporters who were prosecuted over the US Capitol riot on 6 January 2021 have said they plan to seek compensation.
The creation of the fund prompted outcry from Democrats and some Republicans who were concerned that it did not have explicit congressional approval and would operate with little oversight.
John Thune, the Republican leader in the Senate, said he was not a "big fan" of the fund and that he was unclear on how claims would be processed.
The Virginia lawsuit was filed by two men who alleged the fund was discriminatory. They said they had been targeted for political retribution by the Trump administration but believed the administration would not allow them to file claims for compensation.
A spokesperson from the justice department said they were "extremely confident in the legality of the anti-weaponisation fund which is supported by ample precedent".
"We will not allow the policy preferences of judges to interfere with our efforts to provide restitution to victims of lawfare," they added.
Carl Tobias, a law professor at the University of Richmond, said Judge Brinkema, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton, was "highly experienced" and had "carefully resolved a broad spectrum of high-profile cases".
He added that while the legal ruling may temporarily stop the fund, there is a move in Congress to pass legislation to further restrict the justice department's efforts, relying on Congress's "power of the purse" .
The Virginia lawsuit is one of several legal challenges to the fund currently being considered by federal courts.
On Wednesday, a group of 35 former federal judges wrote a letter to the judge who oversaw Trump's tax lawsuit, asking her to review the terms of the deal more thoroughly.
The terms of the deal also block the IRS from reviewing tax filings that Trump, his family and his businesses made in the past.
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