STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
A federal judge has ordered the Trump administration to stop - at least for now - the creation of a new $1.8 billion antiweaponization fund. The Department of Justice says this fund - $1.776 billion, to be exact - is for people who believe they've been persecuted politically. Many people, Republicans in Congress and Democrats as well, have objected to this, and NPR investigative correspondent Tom Dreisbach is following the court case. Hi there, Tom.
TOM DREISBACH, BYLINE: Hey, good morning.
INSKEEP: Who went to court and got this thing temporarily stopped?
DREISBACH: Well, it's a group that was filed by kind of a motley crew, including a former federal prosecutor who worked on January 6 cases and was fired by the administration, the National Abortion Federation, which represents abortion providers, the city of New Haven, Connecticut, which says it's faced targeting over its immigration policies. What binds these groups together is that they all say they were targeted in one way or other by the Trump administration. And they are presuming that all of the money from this fund will only go to the president's friends and allies, not his perceived enemies like themselves. And so they argue the fund is unconstitutional. They asked a judge to stop it altogether or at least pause it while they're suing. And so a federal judge in Virginia today ordered that the administration do that. They were pausing any action to create this fund or make any payments. It does not mean that these plaintiffs will ultimately win the case, but the judge wants to maintain the status quo for now before any money can go out the door, which would make it much harder to claw back. So this pause lasts a couple of weeks till June 12.
INSKEEP: What is it about this fund that has caused multiple people to sue and multiple people in Congress to object?
DREISBACH: Well, it's a few reasons. I mean, I think for one thing, the administration has been asked again and again and again, could this money go to people who assaulted police on January 6 and attacked the Capitol, which forced a lot of lawmakers, who - in Congress to run for their lives themselves. And the administration just will not rule out that possibility. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told CNN that people who assault cops get paid all the time, and he says they're just going to look at applications case by case. When it comes to Congress, I mean, it goes somewhat to the heart of separation of powers. They're supposed to decide how the government spends money, and this fund has not been explicitly approved by Congress or approved by a judge. And Senator Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, called it, quote, "stupid on stilts." But the administration says this money is needed to correct past wrongs. They say anyone can apply, Republican or Democrat.
INSKEEP: OK. So they can't pay anything out of the fund for a couple of weeks. What happens after that?
DREISBACH: Well, we've got these multiple lawsuits playing out in the courts, another action by a group of former federal judges who are asking a judge who is overseeing the Trump lawsuit that led to the creation of the fund deposit. Congress is set to return soon, and presumably, they could take some action through legislation to limit it. At the same time, lots of people are already lining up to try to get money. I talked to January 6 defendants, people charged and convicted of assaulting cops. They say they deserve some of this taxpayer money.
INSKEEP: NPR's Tom Dreisbach, thanks for the update.
DREISBACH: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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