Perhaps the most glaring example of corruption is Donald Trump's bogus attempt to sue the IRS over the 2019 leak of Trump's Federal income tax returns by Charles E. Littlejohn, who was an IRS contractor employed by Booz-Allen. Littlejohn later pleaded guilty to charges related to the leak, and was sentenced to 5 years in prison. On 29 Jan 2026 Trump sued the IRS as a private citizen, despite the fact that as President he controls the Executive branch of the Federal Government, which includes the IRS. As previously noted the Executive Branch also includes the Department of Justice (DOJ), which is normally responsible for representing Federal agencies in lawsuits. Trump himself emphasized his control over the entire Executive branch in his Executive Order 14215. This effectively meant Trump was both the plaintiff and the defendant in his lawsuit - an obvious conflict of interest.
Subsequent developments strongly suggest that the suit was a thinly disguised attempt to funnel government money to Trump and his associates.
Neither the IRS or DOJ filed any responses to Trump's lawsuit. On 18 May 2026 Trump's attorney filed a "Plaintiffs’ Notice of Voluntary Dismissal with Prejudice" , citing the lack of response by the defendants. It did not mention any out of court settlement. It did argue that the notice automatically terminated the case, and completely removed it from the jurisdiction of the court. Judge Kathleen M. Williams cancelled all hearings and ruled all pending motions moot.
The Department of Justice then announced the "settlement", which included immunity from IRS audits for his relatives, his companies, and "affiliates"; and a $1.8 billion fund to compensate individuals who claim they were maliciously prosecuted by the Biden administration. We note that Trump claims to be a victim of a malicious prosecution. The fund would be administered by a 5 person board, with four members appointed by Trump's acting Attorney General and former personal attorney Todd Blanche.
This $1.8 billion fund would be paid for by we, the taxpayers.
Almost immediately a group of 35 former Federal judges filed a motion asking the court to reopen the case on the grounds that the lawsuit was a fraud upon the court, because the plaintiff and defendant were effectively the same. Judge Williams agreed, and ruled that the lawsuit was invalid . She also took the unusual step of referring several of Trump's attorneys to their state bar associations for disciplinary action. But it's not clear that this will have much practical effect, since Trump remains in full control of the Department of Justice.
During his confirmation hearings in early August, Blanche provided a written statement to the U.S. Senate that said the fund would not be implemented; but Donald Trump continues to say otherwise.
© 2026 David R. Wells & Lawrence H. Wells
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