# Judge Skeptical Trump's 'Anti-Weaponization Fund' Is Truly Dead

- URL: https://twotakes.us/stories/judge-skeptical-trumps-anti-weaponization-fund-is-truly-dead
- Published: 2026-09-20T01:09:40.890021+00:00
- Topics: justice-department, epstein-files, anti-weaponization-fund, judiciary, trump-administration

## What the left says
- The fund's demise on paper doesn't erase the underlying goal of using taxpayer money to compensate Trump allies, including Jan. 6 rioters and anti-abortion activists convicted under the FACE Act, since the DOJ's ordinary Judgment Fund could serve the same purpose with far less transparency or oversight.
- Statements from administration officials continuing to float payments to prosecuted allies undercut the DOJ's claim that the concept has truly been abandoned.
- The Justice Department's independence, established after Watergate, has been compromised under an administration Judge Brinkema described as exerting a 'somewhat coerced' influence over DOJ decisions, raising the stakes of allowing settlements to proceed unchecked.
- Appointing an independent monitor over Judgment Fund payouts is a reasonable safeguard given the history of large, opaque settlements to politically favored defendants like Paul Vaughn.

## What the right says
- Attorney General Todd Blanche formally rescinded the Anti-Weaponization Fund in August and has repeatedly affirmed under oath, including at his confirmation hearing, that it is dead, which should be sufficient to render the lawsuit moot.
- The DOJ argues the case should be dismissed because the specific fund being challenged no longer exists, and continuing to litigate a defunct policy wastes judicial resources.
- The Judgment Fund is a longstanding, routine mechanism used across administrations to pay legitimate legal settlements, not a secret workaround invented to reward political allies.
- Individuals like Paul Vaughn who received pardons and settlements went through a legal process, and treating ordinary use of the Judgment Fund as inherently suspicious sets a troubling precedent for how future administrations handle settlements.

## Common ground
- The Anti-Weaponization Fund, a proposed $1.776–1.8 billion fund, was formally rescinded by Attorney General Todd Blanche in August after bipartisan backlash threatened his confirmation.
- Judge Leonie Brinkema did not rule from the bench and left open whether the underlying lawsuit will proceed or be dismissed.
- Paul Vaughn, convicted for blockading an abortion clinic, received a pardon and a seven-figure payout from the DOJ's Judgment Fund.
- The core dispute centers on whether the ordinary Judgment Fund could functionally replace the canceled Anti-Weaponization Fund in compensating Trump allies prosecuted under the Biden administration.

## Sources
- [Axios](https://www.axios.com/2026/09/17/epstein-files-doj-contempt-judge-blanche) (Lean Left)
- [Fox News](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/judge-says-issues-trump-administration-anti-weaponization-case-alive-kicking-despite-doj-push) (Right)
- [Newsmax](https://www.newsmax.com/politics/trump-settlement-fund-irs/2026/09/18/id/1269897) (Right)
- [PBS NewsHour](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/judge-isnt-swayed-by-governments-claims-that-plans-for-an-anti-weaponization-fund-are-dead) (Lean Left)
- [Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/09/18/judge-is-skeptical-trump-administration-has-fully-abandoned-payout-fund/) (Lean Left)
- [Washington Times](https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/sep/18/judge-not-swayed-governments-claims-plans-anti-weaponization-fund/) (Right)
- [ABC News](https://abcnews.com/US/judge-questions-anti-weaponization-fund-dead/story?id=136562369) (Lean Left)

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