35 Former Judges Urge Florida Court To Investigate Trump’s IRS Settlement Fraud

A bipartisan group of 35 former federal judges asked a federal court in Florida to reopen the legal case between President Donald Trump and the Internal Revenue Service and investigate whether the out-of-court settlement was an act of fraud against the court.

“Can you believe there’s yet another seemingly crooked deal to benefit President Donald Trump and his supporters”

LancasterOnline

The judges filed their motion in a May 27 court filing, arguing that Trump and co-plaintiffs failed to mention a planned settlement in their motion to withdraw the lawsuit against the IRS.

New York Times

The settlement followed Trump’s January suit seeking $10 billion in damages over the agency’s past leak of his tax returns, and the Justice Department agreed to create a $1.766 billion “anti-weaponization” fund.

The motion said, “The Court was deceived,” and it argued the settlement “commandeers the contrived sum of $1.776 billion from the United States Treasury, to be handed out to recipients chosen by a commission effectively controlled by the President.”

Podcaster Joe Rogan criticized a portion of Trump’s recent settlement with the IRS that shields the president, his family and businesses from existing tax audits, calling the addendum “nuts.”

During an episode of the “Joe Rogan Experience” with comedian Tom Segura, Rogan said, “That is so crazy,” and added, “That’s nuts,” as he compared the provision to being unable to prosecute someone for murder again.

The Globe and Mail

The Hill reported that the immunity from certain IRS claims for Trump and his family was part of an agreement made by the Department of Justice to settle long-running disputes, including a $10 billion lawsuit over leaked tax returns.

The Globe and Mail described the addendum signed by Todd Blanche as stipulating that the IRS is “FOREVER BARRED” from pursuing current or future tax claims or prosecutions against Trump, his family or his company.

The New York Times said the motion asked Judge Kathleen M. Williams, who closed the I.R.S. case after Trump voluntarily dismissed his suit, to reopen the matter and examine the terms of the deal.

“It was a lawsuit without precedent: This past January, U”

The Globe and Mail

The Times quoted the judges’ lawyers warning that “The purported ‘settlement’ that was publicly disclosed after this court dismissed this matter raises profound questions,” and it said the motion sought to challenge the deal as fraud.

The New York Times also reported that the agreement produced a $1.8 billion fund that could compensate allies of Trump who claim they suffered “weaponization,” and it described “the conferral of lucrative tax benefits” on Trump, his family and his businesses.

In a separate statement, the Justice Department spokeswoman Natalie Baldassarre said, “This motion is frivolous and there is nothing improper about this agreement,” as the dispute over the settlement’s validity moved back into court.