DOJ Refuses Sworn Statements on Trump’s $1.8 Billion Fund as Judge Weighs Keeping Case Alive
Updated
Updated · ms.now · Jun 23
DOJ Refuses Sworn Statements on Trump’s $1.8 Billion Fund as Judge Weighs Keeping Case Alive
3 articles · Updated · ms.now · Jun 23
Summary
The Justice Department told Judge Leonie Brinkema it will not submit sworn declarations from Todd Blanche, Scott Bessent and Stanley Woodward saying Trump’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund is permanently dead.
DOJ argued written assurances in Congress, court filings and open court are enough, and said forcing declarations from Cabinet-level and senior executive officials would violate separation-of-powers limits on judicial authority.
A late Monday status report, signed by senior counsel Andrew Block, separately confirmed no money has been paid from the fund and no funds have been transferred into it.
Brinkema had tied the declarations to possible dismissal of the lawsuit; without them, she indicated she could issue a scheduling order and keep the case moving.
The stance marks a sharper position than in other Trump-era cases, where senior officials including Blanche and Kristi Noem submitted sworn declarations while resisting only live testimony.