Judge Lin Tells Pentagon Its Anthropic Ban 'Looks Like Attempt to Cripple' the Company; Ruling Expected This Week

U.S. District Judge Rita Lin told the government during a 90-minute preliminary injunction hearing that the Pentagon's designation of Anthropic as a supply chain risk 'looks like an attempt to cripple' the company. Lin questioned why the Pentagon could not simply stop using Claude if genuinely concerned, rather than applying a designation typically reserved for foreign adversaries. She called the government's conduct 'troubling' and noted the actions 'don't really seem to be tailored to the stated national security concern.' Fortune quoted Lin calling it 'attempted corporate murder.' The judge asked both sides to file additional evidence by Wednesday and indicated she would rule before end of week. The supply chain risk designation is the first time it has been applied to a domestic U.S. company. The ruling directly affects Maven's 8,000+ Iran targeting actions that currently use Anthropic's Claude AI.