Trump’s Team Slams ‘Rogue, Politically-Motivated’ Leaks After Court Blocks IRS Deal

The president in a statement Monday doubled down on the harm caused to him when an Internal Revenue Service contractor leaked his personal tax returns to the media — after an Obama-appointee judge issued a scathing rebuke to the Trump family’s settlement with the U.S. Treasury Department.“The IRS wrongly allowed a rogue, politically-motivated employee to leak private and confidential information about President Trump, his family, and the Trump Organization to the New York Times, ProPublica and other left-wing news outlets, which was then illegally released to millions of people. President Trump continues to hold those who wrong America and Americans accountable,” a spokesperson for President Trump’s personal legal team said in a statement.U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams handed down a withering order Monday that tore into the legitimacy of a settlement deal between President Trump and the IRS and barred the president’s personal attorney from appearing in the Southern District of Florida until further notice.Attorney Daniel Z. Epstein represented the President as a private citizen, his sons Donald Trump, Jr. and Eric Trump and the Trump Organization in their suit filed earlier this year over the 2019 leak of Trump’s federal tax returns. But in Judge Williams’ view, the Trumps and their attorney worked hand in glove with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, himself a former personal attorney for the president, and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, Jr. to reach a deal both sides wanted from the start.“Plaintiffs improperly employed this lawsuit to justify a particular award in this matter — access to taxpayer funds and exemption from audits and other investigations — which was accomplished by leveraging control over Defendants,” Judge Williams, an Obama appointee, wrote in her 56-page order Monday.Judge Williams barred the Trump family’s legal team and the government from implementing the terms of the settlement deal that provided the Trump family and associates immunity from investigation and audit by the IRS.The settlement deal, announced in May, was also set to establish a $1.776 billion taxpayer-funded “Anti-Weaponization Fund” to benefit individuals caught up in prosecutions the president has deemed politically motivated, including the January 6, 2021 events at The Capitol and the Mar-a-Lago documents case.But the settlement was the result of complicity between the president and the Executive Branch officials on the opposing side, according to Judge Williams, who called the lawsuit “non-adversarial, collusive, and jurisdictionally improper.”“And because this fact was so obvious and so insurmountable, the Court finds that this matter was brought for an improper purpose — to gain the imprimatur of judicial legitimacy for a ‘settlement’ that had no viable basis in law or fact,“ she continued.The U.S. Department of Justice actively defended the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS against similar claims from individuals whose finances were made public in 2019 leaks by former IRS contractor Charles E. Littlejohn, according to the judge. But when the president filed his suit this past January, the government made no filings in the 109 days between the complaint and the Trumps’ motion for voluntary dismissal.The Justice Department’s “actions (or more accurately, inaction)” in the case demonstrated that the president was pulling the strings on both sides, Judge Williams said.The collusion was underscored by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s unilateral announcement that the Anti-Weaponization fund was kaput in June, which the judge said “demonstrates that there was only one party whose interests were being represented throughout this case.” “Ultimately, the DOJ has endeavored to justify its position to create the appearance of a case or controversy ‘resolved’ under the aegis of the Court,” the opinion states.Along with Mr. Epstein’s one-year ban from the Florida federal court, Judge Williams directed the clerk to share her opinion with the bar associations in New York and the District of Columbia, where disciplinary proceedings are already underway against Mr. Blanche and Mr. Woodward, respectively. She also referred another attorney representing the Trump family, Alejandro Brito, to the Florida bar association to consider disciplinary action.Mr. Blanche is scheduled to appear before the Senate for a confirmation hearing next week. His chances at formally acceding to the post he has filled since Pam Bondi’s removal in April have been rocked by the sudden death of Senator Lindsey Graham over the weekend and other high profile Republican absences along with a fracturing base and slim majority.Mr. Epstein, representatives for the Department of Justice, and a Trump Organization spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.

Trump’s Team Slams ‘Rogue, Politically-Motivated’ Leaks After Court Blocks IRS Deal

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