By Tierney Sneed, Devan Cole, CNN
The unprecedented lawsuit President Donald Trump brought against the Internal Revenue Service over the unauthorized disclosure of his tax returns years ago has led to an unprecedented arrangement that will make nearly $1.8 billion in taxpayer funds available to allies of the president who say they were unfairly investigated by the government in the past.
The announcement of the “Anti-Weaponization Fund” by the Justice Department on Monday immediately drew criticism from Democrats, public interest groups and former government officials who argued that Trump was using the levers of the government he controls to set up a vast piggybank for his supporters.
“It’s highly unusual. It seems to me that it’s a fairly thinly veiled attempt to funnel federal money to people that are sympathetic to the president’s cause and points of view without following the kind of usual procedures,” said retired Judge William Smith, who was appointed to the federal bench in Rhode Island by former President George W. Bush.
Later Monday, the federal judge in Miami who had been overseeing the case agreed to fully close the matter – scrambling hopes from some corners of the legal community for her to scrutinize the behavior of the Trump Justice Department attorneys and Trump’s personal lawyers who were involved in the lawsuit.
Legal experts, meanwhile, appeared torn over whether anyone opposed to the deal would have the ability to mount an effort in court to frustrate the settlement, which they agreed was a novel use of the legal system to advance Trump’s policy goals.
Here’s what to know about the issue:
What was the basis of Trump’s lawsuit?
Trump sued the IRS in his personal capacity in January over the disclosure of his and his company’s tax returns in 2019 and 2020. The lawsuit – seeking $10 billion in damages – accused the agency of failing to take proper steps to safeguard his sensitive tax information, which was leaked by a government contractor who has since been prosecuted for illegally releasing the returns.
While a law protecting the privacy of taxpayers protects the privacy of presidents as well, it was notable that a sitting president was suing an agency his administration controls.
“I am unaware of any other president suing the IRS in the manner that Trump has chosen to do,” said Joseph J. Thorndike, a contributing editor with Tax Notes magazine, who pointed out that President Richard Nixon’s tax returns were leaked. “And as a result, I’m not aware of the IRS having settled any suit with a sitting president.”
“The president is at top of the executive branch, when he sues the executive branch, he is in effect suing himself,” said Stacey Young, a former longtime attorney at the DOJ who now leads Justice Connection, which opposes politicization of the department.
Controversial claims
The claims Trump was bringing appeared to be barred by a two-year statute of limitations, a clock that starts once someone becomes aware their information has been improperly disclosed.
In the version of the timeline most generous to Trump, he should have filed his claims by October 2025, House Democrats said in a court filing, because he would have certainly known of the disclosure by the October 2023 plea hearing of the government contractor given that one of his personal attorneys showed up to the proceedings on Trump’s behalf.
Secondly, the way the Justice Department folded in the face of Trump’s lawsuit is a dramatic departure from how it’s defended the IRS against similar claims of unlawful disclosure – includin