US justice department says it will abide by court ruling halting Trump's $1.8bn 'anti-weaponisation' fund

US justice department says it will abide by court ruling halting Trump's $1.8bn 'anti-weaponisation' fund20 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleNardine SaadReutersThe US Department of Justice (DOJ) says it will abide by a court ruling halting the Trump administration's $1.8bn (£1.3bn) fund meant to compensate people who allege unfair treatment by the federal government during previous administrations.In a statement on Monday, the department said it "disagrees strongly with the decision" made by the court.The administration last month announced what it called an "anti-weaponisation fund" as part of its settlement agreement with US President Donald Trump over a leak of his tax returns.Both Republicans and Democrats have criticised it as a "slush fund" and a federal judge temporarily blocked its creation until a hearing on 12 June.Who's eligible for the 'Anti-Weaponisation Fund'? Trump's critics think they might beThe DOJ defended the fund's establishment on Monday, saying in a statement on X that it was created "to make up for the tremendous abuse, harm, and hate unfairly shown to so many people".The fund was "open to anybody who was so weaponized, targeted, or persecuted, whether they were Democrat, Republican, Conservative, Independent, or otherwise", the DOJ said.The White House directed comments about the decision to the justice department. Last week, US Judge Leonie Brinkema temporarily stopped the creation of $1.776bn government fund to compensate individuals who claimed to be targets of political investigation by previous administrations.The fund had been set aside for "victims of lawfare" to seek compensation, and eligibility for it appeared broad. Brinkema barred the justice department from taking any steps to stand up or operate the fund - including processing or dispersing claims - until a preliminary hearing on 12 June.Responding to the judge&...