Trump lawyers double down on slush fund that his own DOJ vowed to abandon

Trump's lawyers urged a federal judge to reject an effort to reopen the dismissed lawsuit that led to the $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund, according to a new court filing.

Attorneys for Trump, his sons, and the Trump Organization argued in the Southern District of Florida filing that a group of 35 former federal judges have "no standing" to challenge the settlement that ended the case and created the anti-weaponization fund.

Trump sued the IRS for $10 billion after a contractor leaked his tax returns, which led to the settlement with an agency he oversees as president. However, the judges' theory that the settlement was collusive "is not a legal standard," the filing added.

"It is a policy objection dressed as a fraud claim," the filing described the judges' case. "It does not warrant the extraordinary remedy of reopening a closed case."

The defense of the fund comes shortly after Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told a House Appropriations subcommittee that the Department of Justice would not move ahead with it. Blanche declined to put that in writing, however.