CREATORS
May 26, 2026
Never has
there been a more egregious abuse of power in American history than the
settlement of President Donald Trump v. the Internal Revenue Service. The
President sued the IRS — essentially suing himself — while the lawyers
defending the government against the lawsuit also work for him. Trump was well
aware of the incongruous nature of his lawsuit, telling reporters, "I'm
supposed to work out a settlement with myself."
Let's put
that in perspective. The president oversees the Department of the Treasury. The
IRS is an agency of the Department of the Treasury. The Secretary of the
Treasury serves at the pleasure of the President. The Department of Justice is
also an agency of the executive branch of government — headed by the
president's former attorney — whose attorneys must adhere to the president's
opinion on matters of law.
The
Justice Department announced that Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has
established a $1.776 billion fund to settle Trump v. IRS. According to Lawfare,
the name "Trump chose for this instrument of partisan self-dealing —
conjured by a president suing his own government and settling with himself, a
product of the politicized use of the legal system he claims to deplore — is
'The Anti-Weaponization Fund.'"
As the
fund is currently configured, Trump will not be entitled to compensation
directly from the fund. According to Lawfare, "the money will be doled out
by a five-member board he effectively controls, operating under procedures that
need not be disclosed, with the identities of recipients potentially kept
secret."
Before you
cheer for the president's magnanimous decision to not accept monies for
himself, consider that the settlement directs that the government would be
"forever barred and precluded from prosecuting or pursuing" pending
tax claims against Trump, his family members and businesses.
According
to The New York Times, the addendum to the settlement agreement was posted,
without fanfare, on the department's website. According to The Times, the
addendum "revealed the determination of Mr. Trump and his appointees to
ram through maximalist measures with minimum outside scrutiny at a moment when
they still have uncontested control of government."
The
immunity from IRS auditing ignores that the IRS is required by regulation to
audit the president's tax returns every year. It is also worth noting that The
New York Times reported in 2024 that an audit of Trump by the IRS could cost
the president more than $100 million.
His $10
billion lawsuit and the resulting $1.8 billion settlement do not pass
constitutional muster. In 1937, U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Evan
Hughes reasoned that justiciable cases and controversies not only require that
disputes be of the types specified in Article III of the U.S. Constitution, but
the controversy must be definite and concrete, "touching the legal
relations of parties having adverse legal interests."
There are
no adverse interests in this settlement. The president's IRS made a deal with
the President's DOJ to use taxpayer money to compensate supporters of the
president. This lawsuit and settlement should have been laughed out of court.
The judge
overseeing Trump's suit, Kathleen Williams of the U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of Florida, raised the case and controversy concern. To avoid
briefing and arguing the matter, Trump withdrew the suit in exchange for the
"slush fund" and IRS immunity.
If
Congress does not act — both houses having been emasculated by the President's
influence with the extreme wing of the GOP — the Courts will need to step into
the void. The slush fund is being challenged by police officers who helped
defend the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. This money grab must be thwarted.
Matthew T.
Mangino is of counsel with Luxenberg, Garbett, Kelly & George P.C. His
book, "The Executioner's Toll," 2010, was released by McFarland
Publishing. You can reach him at www.mattmangino.com and follow him on Twitter
@MatthewTMangino
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