More from the article ...

... In a letter made public on Wednesday, Judge Richard Eaton suggested that if the Justice Department succeeded in asking an appeals court to immediately intervene, it could have consequences for an online claims system that has been processing at least $85 billion in refunds so far.

The government contends that it set up the portal under its "own authorities," distancing it from Eaton's order. The judge wrote that "the government has every reason to be proud" of its efforts to pay refunds, but warned that an order interfering with his handling of the litigation "would discourage continuing progress."

The judge also attached 30 pages of materials that he said showed US agencies acknowledging that they created the portal in response to his ruling, as opposed to "voluntarily." He asked for his letter, which was addressed to the Justice Department, to become part of the record of the case. ...