Judge Blocks Anti-Weaponization Slush Fund

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Originally published at: Judge Blocks Anti-Weaponization Slush Fund - TPM – Talking Points Memo

ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA — In a major blow to President Trump’s anti-weaponization slush fund, a federal judge in Virginia issued a preliminary injunction blocking the fund. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema gave the administration a week to file a declaration, under penalty of perjury, that the fund is not going forward. Brinkema issued her ruling from the…

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trump can pardon perjury.

But I think they’re going to work around the slush fund by just doling out individual “settlements.” That will be much harder to stop.

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Going to assume there’ll be a tirade over this. “I definitely wasn’t going to do it but it’s illegal and treasonous to tell me I can’t do it. Supreme Court, do your thing!!”

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Doesn’t a settlement require that the plaintiff file a suit?

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Now I will feel slightly less miffed paying my quarterly taxes Monday. Just slightly.

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But will they do it? Or will they ignore the judge and just do whatever they want?

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“When the president of the United States says he wants something to happen, that’s a pretty good indicator that it’s going to happen.”

Except maybe for the end of that war.

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Over which he has lost control.

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The Federal Tort Claims Act requires potential plaintiffs to first present their claims to the agency that allegedly harmed them, so that the agency can evaluate the claims before a lawsuit is filed. If the agency finds there is merit behind them, it is authorized to settle the claims and cause the Treasury Department to pay the claimant out of the federal Judgment Fund, no congressional approval required.

The agency that allegedly harmed the J6 terrorists is the Department of Justice. So all they have to do is get Todd Blanche to sign off on handing Enrique Tarrio $100 million or whatever.

There are ways to retroactively snatch back that bustout, most notably the False Claims Act, but doing it all in the open probably prevents anyone from qualifying as a private-party whistleblower plaintiff, and DOJ damn sure isn’t going to bring any such claims under current management. Stopping it in advance will be very difficult.

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But doing it piecemeal makes it much less anonymous, right? Which makes it more work and more open to criticism, which is much less of a slush fund.

Getting these miscreants responding to challenges uses added time and energy which is a good thing. Now if their supply of lawyers were to dry up, for some reason, that make things even more challenging for these horrid people.

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Whatever makes you think he wants his splendid little war to end?

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Um, Donnie’s usual political expediency…

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Taking the “L” isn’t in him…

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Thanks

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OT: At the Kennedy Center now. https://www.youtube.com/live/aAhm880quUg

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They did a complete speed-run putting his name on top with cranes and lifts. But to take it down, they’re going to ostentatiously erect a bunch of wholly unnecessary scaffolding to see if they can drag it out long enough to get an emergency stay out of the Fourth Circuit.

Those “workers” willl be going home for the weekend at 5 pm sharp and the name will stay up at least through the weekend.

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DOJ or Treasury (I forget which) has to report all settlement payments it makes or judgments it pays on (IIRC) a quarterly basis. That includes the identities of the parties paid and the amounts. The slush fund committee wouldn’t be bound by law to do the same, but they’re still creating documents that would be subject to the Open Records Act. That’s a much slower path to disclosure, however.

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Pretty basic play from the Sleazy Landlord Operations Manual. Stuff you want to do (or bulldoze) that you kinda suspect you won’t get a permit for? Just do it. Oops, so sorry, too late to fix now. Stuff you don’t want to do? String it out for as long as possible.

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But, his PR strategy, aka his governing strategy, is to call a “L” a stellar and wildly successful “W,” and many of his dumb shit followers frickin’ believe it!!!

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“Anti-Weaponization,” really?

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