United States of America

Ex-Judges Seek Probe of Trump's $1.8B IRS Settlement

Is the Trump IRS settlement a fraud on the court or a routine legal procedure?

Published MAY 28

#United States of America

Ex-Judges Seek Probe of Trump's $1.8B IRS Settlement

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Above: Donald Trump dances on stage at SUNY Rockland Community College in Suffern, New York, on May 22. Image credit: Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images

The Spin

Anti-Trump narrative

Thirty-five former federal judges — appointed by presidents of both parties — are calling out a deal that reeks of fraud on the court. Trump dropped his IRS lawsuit without disclosing a settlement, then a $1.8 billion taxpayer-funded fund materialized overnight, shielding the Trump family from past audits and funneling money to political allies without congressional approval. This is a textbook manipulation of the judicial system to deliver unlawful private benefits to a sitting president.

The New York Times Guardian The Washington Post

Pro-Trump narrative

Even Trump's own Republican allies are calling the anti-weaponization fund bad optics, but bad optics aren't fraud. The settlement follows routine legal procedure — plaintiffs regularly dismiss cases without referencing settlements. Trump's family gets zero money from the fund, and a five-person commission, not the president, controls disbursements.

New York Post

Paul A. Szypula on X