United States of America

Trump Drops $10B IRS Lawsuit With Prejudice

Is the Anti-Weaponization Fund a corrupt self-dealing scheme or a legitimate remedy for government abuse?

Published MAY 18

Trump Drops $10B IRS Lawsuit With Prejudice

Story

Above: Donald Trump in the White House in Washington, D.C. on March 26. Image credit: Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The Facts

President Donald Trump, his two eldest sons and the Trump Organization voluntarily dismissed their $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS and Treasury Department on Monday, filing a notice "with prejudice" in federal court in Miami, barring them from refiling the same claims.
Axios
New York Post
The dismissal is linked to plans to establish a compensation fund of roughly $1.7 billion for individuals who allege they were wrongfully targeted by the federal government, which could include defendants in the Jan. 6 Capitol riots cases and others with claims against prior administrations.
Politico
New York Post
LiveNOW from FOX
The lawsuit originated from the leak of Trump's tax returns to The New York Times and ProPublica in 2019 and 2020 by former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn, who pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years in prison in 2024.
The Washington Post
Reuters
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams had questioned whether the case met constitutional requirements, writing that Trump's "named adversaries are entities whose decisions are subject to his direction" and had scheduled a hearing for May 27.
Newsweek
The New York Times
Shortly after the dismissal filing, 93 Democratic members of Congress submitted a friend-of-the-court brief arguing any settlement would "siphon billions of taxpayer dollars into the pockets of the President, his family, and his allies."
FOX 47 News
CBS News
The IRS lawsuit dismissal follows earlier settlements with Trump allies, including former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who received over $1 million after suing the government for $50 million, and former campaign adviser Carter Page, who settled a surveillance-related suit in April.
PBS NewsHour
CNN

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The Spin

Anti-Trump narrative

Dropping a $10 billion lawsuit against an agency the president controls is self-dealing at taxpayer expense. The judge overseeing the case already flagged that Trump effectively controlled both sides of the litigation, making the whole thing constitutionally suspect. Funneling that into a $1.8 billion "grievance fund" for political allies makes the conflict of interest even worse.

PBS NewsHour

Gavin Newsom on X

Pro-Trump narrative

The IRS let a rogue contractor steal private tax records and leak them to left-wing media outlets. The Anti-Weaponization Fund doesn't just benefit Trump allies. This is about fixing genuine government abuse across the board. There's clear legal precedent for compensation funds like this, and the $1,776,000,000 figure sends an unmistakable message about restoring constitutional rights.

New York Post

LindellTV on X