Trump settles $10 billion IRS lawsuit, secures apology and $1.776 billion fund for Americans targeted by government
President Trump dismissed his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS on Monday in exchange for a formal government apology and the creation of a $1.776 billion compensation fund open to any American who believes federal agencies were turned against them for political reasons, including, remarkably, Hunter Biden.
The settlement, reported by the New York Post, resolves a case Trump, his sons Don Jr. and Eric, and the Trump Organization filed on January 29 after the government failed to protect their confidential tax returns from being leaked to the New York Times in 2019.
In its place now stands the Justice Department Anti-Weaponization Fund, a board-governed mechanism designed to hear claims, issue apologies, and distribute monetary relief to people who were unfairly targeted by any administration.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the fund's formation Monday with a statement that left little ambiguity about the settlement's purpose.
"The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this Department's intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again."
Trump and his family receive no compensation from the fund. They get the apology. Everyone else, from January 6 defendants to political targets of prior administrations, gets a place in line.
The deal is not cost-free for the president. Monday's settlement requires Trump to withdraw claims related to the FBI's August 2022 raid on Mar-a-Lago and the FBI investigation into alleged collusion between his 2016 campaign and the Russian government. Those are two of the most politically significant episodes of his first term, and they are now off the table as legal claims.
A spokesman for Trump's legal team framed the trade-off in characteristically forward-looking terms.
"President Trump is entering into this settlement squarely for the benefit of the American people, and he will continue his fight to hold those who wrong America and Americans accountable."
"The point of this isn't to make every January 6-er a millionaire. The point is to compensate, and to give entitled people back some of their dignity and some of what they lost, including money, whether it's for legal fees or other costs associated with what they went through."
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