WASHINGTON — Dozens of former federal judges have demanded a court reopen President Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS that his team settled last week in exchange for the creation of a $1.776 billion anti-weaponization compensation fund.
A group of 35 former jurists filed a stunning motion for relief late Wednesday slamming the settlement of the $10 billion suit and raising concerns about “manipulation” by the Trump administration.
“The purported ‘settlement’ that was publicly disclosed after this court dismissed this matter raises profound questions about the parties’ candor toward the court and manipulation of the judicial system, which threatens to undermine confidence in the administration of justice,” the judges argued.
The motion was filed with Miami federal Judge Kathleen Williams, who agreed to close the case last week after Trump’s team moved for voluntary dismissal. The plaintiffs have asked Williams to take advantage of a rule allowing the revival of the case so the settlement terms can be scrutinized.
“It is a routine move for plaintiffs to dismiss cases without referencing any settlement. This motion is frivolous, and there is nothing improper about this agreement,” a DOJ spokesperson told The Post.
Trump had sued the IRS in January, accusing the powerful tax agency of failing to protect his personal information.
Former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn was sentenced to five years behind bars in January 2024 for leaking Trump’s tax returns and data on other billionaires to the New York Times and ProPublica.
On May 18, the DOJ announced a settlement in which victims of alleged government weaponization could apply for relief from a $1.776 billion fund.
The agreement, which Trump denied negotiating but praised nonetheless, drew bipartisan outrage — triggering a screamfest in a Senate Republican conference meeting last week and prompting the chamber to break for recess early without passing a funding bill for Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as Customs and Border Protection.
“The parties have used this lawsuit … to allow a ‘commission’ controlled by the President to dole out
$1.776 billion in taxpayer dollars without constitutional or congressional authority to do so, and
to confer unlawful private benefits to the President and his family,” the judges claimed.
“And the parties have plainly tried to shield this conduct from necessary judicial scrutiny.”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump’s former defense attorney, has claimed he will appoint five commissioners to oversee the fund and denied that the president will be involved in that process.
Blanche has also insisted that individuals who committed violent crimes won’t be eligible for the money, but hasn’t ruled out figures associated with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot getting relief.
Trump, his sons, and his real estate empire are automatically barred from getting awards under the deal, according to Blanche.
The 35 judges were backed by Democracy Defenders, a self-described nonpartisan group co-founded by Norm Eisen, who worked as co-counsel for the House Judiciary Committee on Trump’s first impeachment in 2020.