Judge to Trump, Musk, and Zeldin: “Vague and unsubstantiated assertions of fraud are insufficient”

Washington, D.C. – As the Trump administration continues to see its lawless actions rebuked in courts across the board, Judge Tanya Chutkan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia lambasted EPA Administrator Zeldin’s misinformation-fueled, illegal attempts to defund grants to lower energy costs for families. 

Zeldin has desperately tried to claim he was canceling Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund grants despite laws clearly barring him from doing so, and grantees brought a suit to challenge his attempts to take their funding. In the hearing, the judge repeatedly scolded EPA lawyers for providing no serious basis, scolding them at one point that “you have to have some kind of evidence.”

Judge Chutkan is not the first to tell Trump and Zeldin that they have no basis for withholding the funding. For weeks, Zeldin has been inappropriately working with the Trump DOJ and FBI to concoct phony political criminal investigations to justify clawing back the funds, already leading to the shocking resignation of a senior DOJ prosecutor after she refused to go along with charade.

Making matters even worse, this morning EPA Administrator Zeldin falsely tweeted a proclamation of victory, claiming that “the funds are now frozen by court order.” In fact, the judge ordered no such thing, but rather blocked the implementation of Zeldin’s cancellation, and said that she would decide later on whether to force Citibank to lift the freeze that they have put on the funds under pressure from the Trump EPA and DOJ. To quote the order: “ORDERED that Defendant Citibank is enjoined from moving or transferring Plaintiffs’ grant funds to any party other than the accountholders.”

AP: Judge blocks Trump administration from terminating $14 billion in ‘green bank’ grants

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the Trump administration from terminating $14 billion in grants awarded to three climate groups by the Biden administration, saying the government’s “vague and unsubstantiated assertions of fraud are insufficient.”

The New York Times: E.P.A. Offers No New Evidence in Battle Over $20 Billion in Climate Grants

“In a legal filing Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency did not provide direct evidence of waste, fraud, or abuse in a $20 billion climate grant program that the agency canceled citing ‘unacceptable risk.’”

…

“Last week, a federal judge ordered the E.P.A. to justify its moves to freeze the funds and cancel the program. The motion stemmed from a lawsuit brought by Climate United, a nonprofit group that was supposed to receive $7 billion under the initiative.

But in response to the judge’s order on Monday, the E.P.A. did not present new direct evidence. Instead, it referred to unidentified media reports as well as a video released last year by Project Veritas, a conservative group known for using covert recordings to embarrass its political opponents.”

Wall Street Journal: Biden Climate Funds Create Legal Storm for Trump Administration

“A judge last week said she had seen no evidence of waste, fraud, abuse or illegality that would justify the Trump administration ending the grants, and gave Justice Department lawyers until Monday to provide that information.

“You can’t even tell me what the evidence of malfeasance was,” U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan told a government lawyer during a tense hearing in a lawsuit brought by Climate United. The organization is the largest of the eight primary recipients of the grants known as the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. The group was awarded almost $7 billion in April 2024 as part of the grant program, money approved by Congress as part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.”

Politico: Judge slams EPA’s climate grant cancellations: ‘You have to have some kind of evidence’

“A federal judge Wednesday lambasted the Environmental Protection Agency’s cancellation of $20 billion in climate grants after the Trump administration was unable to offer any evidence of wrongdoing.”

…

“‘Can you proffer any evidence that [the grant] was illegal, or evidence of abuse or fraud or bribery — that any of that was improperly or unlawfully done, other than the fact that Mr. Zeldin doesn’t like it?’ asked Judge Tanya Chutkan of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.”

…

“‘I can cite cases all day long, but you have to have some kind of evidence or proffer to back it up,’ Chutkan replied.”

Reuters: ​​US judge blocks Trump’s EPA from clawing back climate grants

“Chutkan said it appeared the EPA failed to take the legally required steps necessary to terminate $13.97 million of grants awarded to Climate United, Coalition for Green Capital and Power Forward Communities.

Chutkan said that while the EPA claimed it terminated them due to “substantial concerns” about fraud, waste and abuse, it provided only “vague and unsubstantiated assertions” to back up those claims.”