WASHINGTON
—
Federal
Judge
Rita
Lin
issued
a
sweeping
preliminary
injunction
in
Anthropic’s
favor
Thursday,
the
latest
move
in
the
weeks-long
conflict
between
the
AI
company
and
the
US
government.
“The
record
strongly
suggests
that
the
reasons
given
for
designating
Anthropic
a
supply
chain
risk
were
pretextual
and
that
[the
government’s]
real
motive
was
unlawful
retaliation,”
Lin,
who
was
appointed
by
former
President
Joe
Biden,
wrote
in
the
48-page
order
[PDF].
By
granting
the
preliminary
junction,
she
found
Anthropic
was
“likely
to
succeed”
in
its
lawsuit
against
the
government
and
therefore,
the
17
federal
agencies
named
as
defendants
—
from
the
Pentagon
to
the
National
Endowment
for
the
Humanities
—
are
not
allowed
to
implement
the
orders
designating
Anthropic
as
a
supply
chain
risk
until
the
lawsuit
is
decided.
After Anthropic
refused
to
accept
new
contract
language allowing
“all
lawful
use”
of
its
Claude
AI
by
the
military,
President
Donald
Trump
in
a
Feb.
27
Truth
Social
post
directed
federal
agencies
to
“IMMEDIATELY
CEASE
all
use
of
Anthropic’s
technology,”
and
Defense
Secretary
Pete
Hegseth posted
on
X
that
“no
contractor,
supplier,
or
partner
that
does
business
with
the
United
States
military
may
conduct
any
commercial
activity
with
Anthropic.”
Then
on
March
4,
two
formal
letters
from
the
administration
simultaneously
designated
Anthropic
as
a
Supply
Chain
Risk
under
two
statutes:
Title
41,
Section
4713
(41
USC
4713),
which
covers
the
federal
government
as
a
whole
(covering
Trump’s
order),
and
Title
10,
Section
3252, which
spells
out
a
streamlined
process
for
use
solely
by
the
Department
of
Defense
(covering
Hegseth’s).
While
the
official
designation
was
less
harsh
than
envisioned,
Anthropic
CEO
Dario
Amodei
said
he
still
intended
to
sue
the
government
to
overturn
the
decision.
The
company
filed
two
separate
lawsuits:
a
general
one
in
the
Northern
District
of
California
and
one
in
the
DC
Circuit
specifically
on
the
Sec.
4713
designation.
Just
hours
after
Thursday’s
injunction
in
the
California
case,
Undersecretary
of
Defense
and
Chief
Technology
Officer
Emil
Michael,
the
Pentagon’s
point
man
in
the
dispute,
posted
on
X
that
Lin’s
order
contained
“dozens
of
factual
errors”
and
that
“the
Supply
Chain
Risk
designation
…
is
in
full
force
and
effect”
under
Sec.
4713,
which
he
claimed
was
not
subject
to
her
jurisdiction
in
any
case.
When
asked
for
comment,
a
Pentagon
spokesperson
referred
Breaking
Defense
to
Michael’s
X
posts.
An
Anthropic
spokesperson
told
Breaking
Defense
the
company
is
“still
waiting
on
the
decision
on
the
DC
circuit.
“We’re
grateful
to
the
[California]
court
for
moving
swiftly,
and
pleased
they
agree
Anthropic
is
likely
to
succeed
on
the
merits,”
the
spokesperson
said.
“While
this
case
was
necessary
to
protect
Anthropic,
our
customers,
and
our
partners,
our
focus
remains
on
working
productively
with
the
government
to
ensure
all
Americans
benefit
from
safe,
reliable
AI.”
Legal
opinion
on
Lin’s
order
is
divided.
“Some
smart
lawyers
I’ve
talked
to
about
this
think
that
Judge
Lin’s
injunction
basically
just
doesn’t
cover
the
other
(41
USC
4713)
designation
at
all
and
that
only
a
DC
Circuit
stay
could
affect
that
designation,”
said
Charlie
Bullock,
a
senior
fellow
at
the
Institute
for
Law
and
AI.
“So
under
that
theory,
Anthropic
is
in
a
pretty
similar
position
today
to
the
position
they
were
in
[Wednesday],
practically
speaking.”
RELATED:
Trump
admin’s
comments
could
undermine
case
against
Anthropic
in
court:
Experts
On
the
other
hand,
Bullock
said
in
an
email
to
Breaking
Defense,
“Judge
Lin’s
order
can
be
interpreted
to
enjoin
DoW
[the
Department
of
War]
from
enforcing
the
4713
designation.”
In
her
ruling
Thursday,
Lin
imposed
a
seven-day
stay
on
her
own
order,
meaning
her
preliminary
injunction
doesn’t
go
into
effect
for
a
week.
“That’s
not
too
uncommon,”
said
Sean
Timmons
of
Tully
Rinckey,
a
former
military
JAG
who
now
regularly
represents
current
and
former
servicemembers
against
the
government.
“It
gives
everybody
time
to
file
appropriate
pleading
for
either
reconsideration
or
appellate
intervention.”
In
this
case,
the
appellate
court
for
Lin’s
ruling
would
be
the
federal
9th
Circuit,
which
is
comprised
of
appointees
from
across
the
political
spectrum,
Timmons
said,
making
its
rulings
harder
to
predict.
“I
don’t
think
they’d
be
inclined
to
grant
the
government
relief,”
he
added.
Of
the
lawsuit
overall,
he
said,
“this
could
drag
out
for
a
year
or
two.
…
In
the
meantime
damages
continue
to
incur,
and
the
government
could
be
liable
for
a
breach
of
contract
and
ultimately
payment
for
the
money
lost
by
Anthropic.”