Sunita Somvanshi
A federal magistrate judge has ordered the Department of Justice to identify the internal officials who conceived a now-cancelled federal fund announced with $1.776 billion attached to it. The ruling came from U.S. Magistrate Judge Ivan D. Davis on September 4, 2026.
The fund is called the Anti-Weaponization Fund. The DOJ announced it in May 2026, describing it as a mechanism to address claims involving alleged government “weaponization” and “lawfare” — terms the administration used to characterize prosecutions it said were politically motivated.
The DOJ subsequently rescinded the May 18 order establishing the fund. The department formally cancelled it in August 2026.
Despite the cancellation, litigation continued. The legal challenge questioned whether officials had the authority to direct federal taxpayer money through existing statutory mechanisms without specific legislative authorization. Judge Davis’s September 4 order requires the DOJ to identify the people involved in designing and conceiving the fund.
DOJ rescinded the order before the fund proceeded with claims processing. The case continues before the federal courts.
