CREW sues for communications on IRS “settlement” negotiations

The federal government must respond to CREW’s request for communications between President Trump’s private attorneys and his appointed leadership at the DOJ concerning their negotiations to settle Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS. CREW filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Treasury (Treasury), and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for failing to respond to CREW’s FOIA.

Trump’s purported “settlement” included the creation of a slush fund to funnel $1.776 billion taxpayer dollars to Trump’s political allies and victims of “weaponization” and “lawfare”, including Jan. 6 insurrectionists. In response to bi-partisan pushback, the DOJ has since stated that it would no longer pursue the slush fund, yet it intends to leave in place an immunity agreement that shields the president, his family and his affiliates from IRS audits. Acting Attorney General Blanche has acknowledged that President Trump and his family could sue the federal government to enforce the portion of the agreement creating the slush fund itself.

This month, a federal judge in the Southern District of Florida ruled that the lawsuit had been filed for an “improper purpose—to gain the imprimatur of judicial legitimacy for a ‘settlement’ that had no viable basis in law or fact.” As an amicus brief filed by CREW in that same court earlier this year points out, “The President’s two hats in this litigation—his personal capacity as plaintiff and his role as chief Executive—make it impossible for attorneys in the Department of Justice (DOJ) to fulfill their ethical duties to zealously represent the interests of the defendant agencies against President Trump’s claims.” The court held Trump, his attorneys, and the DOJ abused the legal process in filing the suit and engineering the collusive settlement, and referred President Trump’s attorney to the Florida Bar for potential disciplinary action, as well as directed a copy of the order be transmitted to the New York and District of Columbia Bars, where Acting Attorney General Blanche and Associate Attorney General Woodward are barred.

The records that CREW requested will help the public understand the DOJ’s conduct in negotiating the terms of settling the lawsuit, which the president intended to resolve as a “settlement with myself.” The records will also illuminate whether the DOJ, Treasury or IRS considered compliance with the Constitution’s Domestic Emoluments Clause, which forbids the president from receiving profits, gains or advantages from the federal government outside of his or her government salary and benefits. It’s crucial that the court order the federal government to comply with the law and expeditiously process CREW’s FOIA request to shed light on the process underlying this collusive settlement.