"Time and again, it is tempting to think Donald Trump has exhausted his ability to shock. But with his legal “settlement” with his own Department of Justice, the US president has surpassed himself.
The background is that the president, together with two of his sons and the family business, sued the Internal Revenue Service in January for a leak of his tax returns by a former IRS contractor during his first presidency. With Trump’s trademark judicial frivolity, they demanded damages of $10bn. Now Trump’s acting attorney-general Todd Blanche has announced the government will “settle” the case with the Trumps, who relinquish their claim.In return, they receive a pledge against further audits of their existing tax returns. The federal government will also set up a fund of $1.776bn — referencing the year of America’s independence declaration — supposedly to compensate people who have suffered the illegitimate “weaponisation” or “lawfare” of prosecution by legal authorities, as Trump likes to claim he has.
Critics suggest this group will consist mainly of Trump supporters who have faced investigations or criminal charges; Democrats have called it a “slush fund”. The DoJ has said there will be “no partisan requirements” to file a claim. But senior administration officials have declined to rule out that the insurgents who broke into the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, could benefit from the fund."
FT.com
The background is that the president, together with two of his sons and the family business, sued the Internal Revenue Service in January for a leak of his tax returns by a former IRS contractor during his first presidency. With Trump’s trademark judicial frivolity, they demanded damages of $10bn. Now Trump’s acting attorney-general Todd Blanche has announced the government will “settle” the case with the Trumps, who relinquish their claim.In return, they receive a pledge against further audits of their existing tax returns. The federal government will also set up a fund of $1.776bn — referencing the year of America’s independence declaration — supposedly to compensate people who have suffered the illegitimate “weaponisation” or “lawfare” of prosecution by legal authorities, as Trump likes to claim he has.
Critics suggest this group will consist mainly of Trump supporters who have faced investigations or criminal charges; Democrats have called it a “slush fund”. The DoJ has said there will be “no partisan requirements” to file a claim. But senior administration officials have declined to rule out that the insurgents who broke into the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, could benefit from the fund."
FT.com
