The Trump administration must release funds allocated by Congress to the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a federal judge ruled, finding that its recent withholding of the financing appears to be illegal.

U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, a Donald Trump appointee, wrote in her 15-page memorandum opinion that the administration has "obstructed" efforts by NED to secure its financing, despite the fact that it is the legislative – not executive branch – that holds the authority in how the funding is doled out.

NED is a "private, nonprofit organization formally recognized under the National Endowment for Democracy Act of 1983," as the judge puts it. The organization sued the administration for withholding the funding in March, and on Monday, the Washington, D.C.-based judge rebuke

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