The Lawsuit Against The IRS Was Filed In January Over Leaked Tax Records. The Fund Was Announced On The Same Day The Suit Was Withdrawn. Democrats Say It Is Unconstitutional. The DOJ Says It Will Issue Apologies And Cash.
According to PBS News, President Donald Trump on Monday moved to withdraw his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns.
The Justice Department simultaneously announced the creation of a $1.776 billion fund to compensate Trump’s allies who claim they were unfairly targeted by the previous administration; an unprecedented move that would allow the president’s administration to pay his supporters from a government agency he controls with taxpayer money.
Trump originally filed the lawsuit in January 2026 in a Florida federal court, alongside his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump and the Trump Organisation against the IRS, alleging that former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn had leaked 15 years of his tax records to media outlets. Littlejohn was sentenced to five years in prison in 2024 after pleading guilty to the leak.
US District Judge Kathleen Williams had questioned whether the case could proceed given that Trump was simultaneously both plaintiff and defendant as president. Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the Anti-Weaponisation Fund, stating it would “make right the wrongs” and have the power to issue formal apologies and monetary relief. The fund is scheduled to close no later than December 1, 2028.
There appear to be few constraints on who can submit a claim. Democrats called the fund unconstitutional, describing it as a political grievance fund to pay off Trump’s allies with public money.
The lawsuit is gone. The fund is open. The taxpayer is footing the bill.
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