WASHINGTON ‒ A bipartisan group of 35 federal judges asked a federal court in Florida to reopen the legal case between President Donald Trump and the IRS and investigate whether the two parties' out-of-court settlement was an act of fraud against the court.
In a May 27 court filing, the ex-judges contend Trump and coplaintiffs failed to mention a planned settlement in their motion to withdraw the lawsuit against the IRS. In exchange for Trump voluntarily withdrawing the lawsuit, the Department of Justice last week agreed to create a much-criticized $1.766 billion "anti-weaponization" fund that could funnel payments to Trump's political allies.
"The Court was deceived," the 24-page motion reads, adding that the settlement "commandeers the contrived sum of $1.776 billion from the United States Treasury, to be handed out to recipients chosen by a commission effectively controlled by the President."
