'Sham settlement': Fmr. federal prosecutor labels possible Trump-IRS deal 'unprecedented' - MS NOW Reports

[Rhiannon12866]

ABC News reports a potential settlement between Trump and the IRS could set up a $1.7 billion fund to compensate Trump allies who claim they were wrongfully targeted by the Biden administration.

Former federal prosecutor and former DOJ national security lawyer Brendan Ballou joins Alex Witt to share his thoughts on the knock-on effects if this were to be approved. - Aired on 05/17/2026.

[Lovie777]

1. Stealing taxpayer's money..................

monies to benefit "we the people" not criminals, but here we are, run by criminal government.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

2. MaddowBlog-Trump moves to withdraw $10 billion lawsuit against IRS amid reports of new 'slush fund'

Last edited Mon May 18, 2026, 12:00 PM - Edit history (1)

The president’s civil case against the IRS is likely over. What we don’t yet know is what kind of deal precipitated the withdrawal.

A year ago, Trump endorsed a “compensation fund” for Jan. 6 rioters, though it wasn’t clear where he expected to get the money.

Now we know: He’d get it from us, in the form of a settlement agreement that results in a giant pool of money his team could use to reward his allies without oversight.

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-05-15T17:42:13.603Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-moves-to-withdraw-10-billion-lawsuit-irs-slush-fund-reports

In recent weeks, there’s been ample reporting from multiple news organizations that Donald Trump was preparing to withdraw his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. We now know those reports were true.

In a court filing made official on Monday morning, the president’s lawyers said their clients, including Trump, his family business and two of his adult sons, are voluntarily dismissing their civil suit.

The court filing, however, did not refer to or disclose any details about a potential settlement with the administration.....

The fund, which would have little oversight, was immediately condemned by congressional Democrats and legal experts as a “slush fund” that would be used to benefit the president’s political allies, including Jan. 6 rioters. These concerns led 93 Democratic lawmakers to file a brief with the judge in this case, arguing Trump is working to “undermine the Constitution” by seeking a settlement from the IRS.

A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team told ABC News last week, “The IRS wrongly allowed a rogue, politically-motivated employee to leak private and confidential information about President Trump, his family, and the Trump Organization to the New York Times, ProPublica and other left-wing news outlets, which was then illegally released to millions of people. President Trump continues to hold those who wrong America and Americans accountable.”

I have been following this "case" and I believe that the so-called lawsuit was void due to a lack of jurisdiction and due to statute of limitations. The federal court hearing the case had amicus briefs filed last week that all take the position that there was no "case or controversy." Without a valid lawsuit, I doubt that this settlement will hold up.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. Trump Can't Be on Both Sides of IRS Settlement, Democrats Say

Since trump is on both sides of this "lawsuit", the courts have no jurisdiction. There can be no settlement if there was no real lawsuit in the first place.

Link to tweet

https://news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-report/trump-cant-be-on-both-sides-of-irs-settlement-democrats-say

Democrats asked a court to block a reported settlement between the IRS and President Donald Trump over a leak of his tax information during his first term, saying it lacks the bare minimum required to file a lawsuit: two opposing parties.

Nearly 100 House Democrats signed an amicus brief in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Monday that says the case doesn’t distinguish between Trump as president and “personal capacity.” The brief also demands the court dismiss the lawsuit as unconstitutional. It sets another marker on how Democrats are finding fresh opportunities to highlight their opposition to how Trump’s personally benefiting from being president.

Trump moved toward dropping his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the 2019 leak of his tax information in a court filing Monday morning. The Department of Justice announced the creation of a $1.7 billion federal fund to pay victims of so-called government weaponization to resolve the lawsuit, under which Trump wouldn’t receive any money directly.

“The President has repeatedly claimed far-reaching Executive power and frequently sought to use that power to further his own personal interests,” the brief said. “He cannot pretend that officials at the IRS and the Department of the Treasury—and their lawyers at the DOJ—operate independently from him for purposes of this case.”....

The Democrats’ filing is being handled by a task force led by top House Democrat leaders Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) and Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), along with House Judiciary Committee ranking member Jamie Raskin and House Ways and Means Committee ranking member Richard Neal (D-Mass.).

“We urge the Court to dismiss this ludicrous case for lack of jurisdiction and to block any settlement that would turn the Treasury into a vehicle for corrupt self-dealing in violation of the Constitution and Congress’s exclusive power of the purse,” Raskin said in a statement announcing the amicus brief.