The U.S. Department of Justice is purportedly holding internal discussions about settling President Donald Trump’s multibillion-dollar lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service.
According to The New York Times, one of the options floated between the Justice Department and White House officials includes the possibility of the IRS dropping any audits against Trump, his businesses, and members of his family.
The most likely option, however, involves the creation of a massive compensation fund. The fund, if approved, would provide $1.7 billion to Trump supporters who claim they were wrongfully targeted with legal action by the Biden administration. The commission overseeing the fund would be authorized to dispense money to anyone who alleges they were harmed by Biden’s so-called “weaponization” of the legal system. This includes the 1,600 or so individuals charged in connections with the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol building.
Some of Trump’s allies have questioned the ethics of the Internal Revenue Service setting up a compensation fund for the president, who wields a certain amount of executive authority over the agency. Trump has acknowledged that the lawsuit “sort of looks bad,” but said that he plans to donate any money he receives to charity.
“It’s interesting because I’m the one that makes a decision, right, and, you know, that decision would have to go across my desk,” Trump said in October. “It’s awfully strange to make a decision where I’m paying myself.”
A settlement could help resolve some of the court’s concerns. Last month, for instance, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Willimas questioned whether President Trump and the Justice Department were “sufficiently adverse” for the case to proceed.
“Moreover, although President Trump avers that he is bringing this lawsuit in his personal capacity, he is the sitting president and his named adversaries are entities whose decisions are subject to his discretion,” Williams wrote. “Indeed, President Trump’s own remarks about this matter acknowledge the unique dynamic of this litigation.”
ABC News notes that the creation of a compensation fund could have significant implications for January 6 rioters, many of whom benefited from blanket pardons signed by Trump.
“They were patriots, as far as I was concerned,” Trump said last year. “I talk about them a lot. They were treated very unfairly.”
Sources
Justice Dept. Officials Consider Settling Trump Suit Against I.R.S.
Trump poised to drop IRS suit, launch $1.7B ‘weaponization’ fund for allies: Sources
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