A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
President Trump's antiweaponization fund is facing scrutiny in the courts.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Judges issued two orders in one day at the end of last week. First, a judge temporarily blocked the government from establishing the president's settlement fund to reimburse people who claim the federal government targeted them. Then another judge said she would investigate Trump's settlement with himself. The president arranged the payoffs in a deal with agencies he controls.
MARTÍNEZ: NPR's Jaclyn Diaz is with us to break all of this down. So, Jaclyn, remind us where we are with this fund.
JACLYN DIAZ, BYLINE: So there were a few developments on Friday. This antiweaponization fund was created by the DOJ, and it was part of a settlement of President Trump's civil lawsuit against the IRS. Trump sued his own government back in January for the leak of his tax returns in 2019. The DOJ set aside almost $1.8 billion for this fund. People who feel like they were targeted by the federal government can apply for this fund and get payouts for damages. Groups like the nonprofit Democracy Forward sued the government over this whole program, and on Friday, a judge temporarily blocked the DOJ from moving forward with the fund. That means no payouts right now. She's now thinking about whether to grant a longer-term pause. Trump's lawyers have about two weeks to respond.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. So Steve earlier mentioned another judge. What about that other judge?
DIAZ: Yeah. So the original federal judge who oversaw Trump's lawsuit over his tax return leaks also weighed in on Friday. That judge, Judge Kathleen Williams, had earlier dismissed the case after the government and Trump settled. Before dismissing it, she expressed some concerns. She said she was worried that Trump and the IRS, which is obviously a part of his government, weren't really on opposite sides and that the court itself might be a, quote, "victim" of fraud.
Thirty-five retired federal judges weighed in and urged Judge Williams to take another look. And - stay with me here - Judge Williams said she's going to consider that. She's giving Trump's lawyers until June 12 to respond. Trump supporters have really wanted something like this to exist, but there's a lot of legal obstacles here for the president to get his fund up and running.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. Now, you say some supporters wanted this. How have some lawmakers responded to the fund?
DIAZ: Well, there's some serious bipartisan pushback to this whole program. Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said previously that he is not a big fan of this fund. But the loudest critics have been, naturally, Democrats. Some top Democrats are really concerned with another part of the settlement. That is one that bars the U.S. government from taking action over past tax returns filed by Trump, his companies and his family. One Democrat, Jamie Raskin of Maryland, said on Friday that Congress should not have to wait for the courts and has the power to act itself.
MARTÍNEZ: How has the Trump administration responded to this criticism?
DIAZ: President Trump and other folks in the White House have said repeatedly that he does not get any personal benefit from this fund, and the Justice Department has defended its legality. The DOJ, for its part, did not respond to a request for comment from NPR. We do know that some Trump supporters who feel like they've been targeted by the DOJ have started applying for the fund. So far, that's included Michael Caputo, a Trump ally and former Health and Human Services spokesman. He has said he and his family were targeted by the Biden administration. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is sure to get questions about the weaponization fund and who might benefit when he testifies before a House budget hearing on Tuesday.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. That's NPR's Jaclyn Diaz. Jaclyn, thanks for laying all this out for us.
DIAZ: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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