President Donald Trump moved to drop his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the 2019 leak of his tax information, the first move in a deal being discussed by administration officials that could include benefits for him and his allies.
The filing in Miami Monday morning contained few details other than the request to drop the suit by Trump's lawyer, Alejandro Brito. U.S. officials have
Under such an arrangement, Trump wouldn't receive any money directly. Instead, claims could be made by parties that allege they were victimized by what they deemed a weaponization of government under President Joe Biden.
Those allies could include about 1,500 individuals who were prosecuted for storming the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to try to prevent Biden's election from being certified.
Critics have condemned this arrangement as an inappropriate "slush fund" to reward his political allies.
"This is pure fraud and highway robbery," a group of House Democrats led by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement Monday. "This case is nothing but a racket designed to take $1.7 billion of taxpayer dollars out of the Treasury and pour it into a huge slush fund for Trump at DOJ to hand out to his private militia of insurrectionists, rioters, and white supremacists."
Brito asserted in Monday's filing that the deal doesn't need approval from Judge Kathleen Williams, who has been critical of the relationship between Trump, the IRS and the Justice Department.
The dismissal "requires neither leave of court nor the consent of any party," Brito said.
The White House and DOJ didn't immediately respond to requests to comment.
Executive authority
Since his return to office, Trump has pushed the limits of executive authority, from imposing tariffs and withholding federal funds to calling on the Justice Department to prosecute his perceived political enemies. Yet the IRS suit, which also named the Treasury as a defendant, stands out in Trump's use of presidential power in court.
The lawsuit has raised conflict of interest questions about Trump, who has authority over the IRS and the Justice Department, which defends the government in lawsuits.
The IRS data leak at the center of the case was a significant blow to the agency. A former IRS contractor, Charles Littlejohn, pleaded guilty in 2023 to stealing tax records for thousands of wealthy Americans, including Trump, Ken Griffin, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, and leaking them to news organizations. Littlejohn was
Based on the data, the New York Times reported on Trump's tax information weeks before the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Biden.
