According to a variety of press reports, Weinstein’s Military Religious Freedom Foundation has withdrawn its lawsuit filed on behalf of Jeremy Hall against the Department of Defense.  The decision comes after months of delays in the MRFF’s deadline (and days prior to the current one) to file a response to the military’s motion to dismiss.

Some reports have implied that the decision was based on Hall’s plan to leave the Army next year; however, since the lawsuit was announced last year Hall has widely reported that he planned to leave the Army.  The decision to abandon the case now is inconsistent with Weinstein’s frequent comments in support of it, including a recent assertion that a post-lawsuit IG visit would bolster the case.

The more likely cause was the conclusion that the case was unwinnable (the DoJ’s motion to dismiss was insurmountable), and by abandoning this case it freed resources to address the new one (a decision which appears to have already been made, since the same law firm that failed to file a timely response has already filed the new lawsuit).

This is the second Weinstein lawsuit that has failed to reach even the initial stages of litigation.  However, as previously noted, he has filed a third that attempts to address the legitimate weakness in Hall’s case: that he never used the military’s in-place grievance systems.  Otherwise, the third lawsuit is in many ways identical to previous ones.

Also noted at the Religion Clause.