{"id":12958,"date":"2026-05-18T17:36:05","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T17:36:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2026\/05\/18\/trump-drops-irs-suit-as-doj-announces-new-1-776-billion-fund-forbes\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T17:36:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T17:36:05","slug":"trump-drops-irs-suit-as-doj-announces-new-1-776-billion-fund-forbes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2026\/05\/18\/trump-drops-irs-suit-as-doj-announces-new-1-776-billion-fund-forbes\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump Drops IRS Suit\u2014As DOJ Announces New $1.776 Billion Fund – Forbes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Topline<\/h2>\n

President Donald Trump voluntarily dropped his $10 billion against the IRS on Monday in exchange for a $1.8 billion \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund that is expected to pay out money to Jan. 6 rioters, a broadly controversial move that\u2019s already drawn widespread outrage<\/a> from Democrats and ethics experts.<\/p>\n

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President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on May 15.<\/span><\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.<\/small><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Key Facts<\/h2>\n
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Trump filed a notice<\/a> with the court Monday saying he had voluntarily dismissed his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, which alleges the IRS failed to properly protect his tax returns after a contractor passed details of the president\u2019s taxes on to news outlets.<\/p>\n

While that filing did not mention a settlement, the Justice Department filed a notice<\/a> Monday announcing the creation of a new $1.776 billion \u201cAnti-Weaponization Fund\u201d as part of settling the case, confirming reporting<\/a> from ABC News last week that Trump intended to settle in exchange for the government creating a fund for those who claimed they were unfairly punished by the Biden administration\u2014including Jan. 6 rioters.<\/p>\n

The DOJ suggested in a press release Monday the only terms of the settlement were the creation of the fund and the IRS issuing a formal apology to Trump, after The New York Times previously reported<\/a> the settlement could also come in exchange for the IRS dropping its tax audits into Trump, his family and his businesses.<\/p>\n

In addition to the IRS suit, Trump will also drop two other legal claims tied to the DOJ\u2019s criminal investigations into Trump during the Biden administration, the DOJ said.<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s dropping of his suit came as Judge Kathleen Mary Williams has been considering whether Trump could actually sue his own IRS\u2014given he controls the agency as president\u2014and Democrats and ethics watchdogs had criticized<\/a> Trump for potentially being able to profit off of litigation that wasn\u2019t even valid to begin with.<\/p>\n

The president\u2019s personal legal team decried the IRS on Monday for \u201cwrongly allow[ing]\u201d a \u201cpolitically-motivated actor\u201d to disclose Trump\u2019s confidential information, and said in a statement Trump was settling the case \u201csquarely for the benefit of the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

What To Watch For<\/h2>\n

The DOJ\u2019s notice Monday states the U.S. Treasury must pay $1.776 billion into the \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund within 60 days of the settlement taking effect, though it\u2019s still unclear what that date will be. It\u2019s unclear when payouts could begin. It\u2019s also possible the fund could get tied up in litigation over whether it\u2019s legal to begin with, ABC noted in its report last week. Donald K. Sherman, president of ethics watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, noted in a statement to Forbes last week the then-potential settlement fund could violate the Constitution\u2019s Domestic Emoluments Clause, which prohibits presidents and other federal officials from profiting off their position beyond their government salary.<\/p>\n

How Will The Settlement Fund Work?<\/h2>\n

The \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund will be for \u201cvictims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress,\u201d Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Monday, though it\u2019s still unclear who exactly will be approved to get money from it. Those who believe they\u2019re victims can apply to receive compensation from the fund, the DOJ said in a press release Monday, and the fund will be able to issue both \u201cformal apologies and monetary relief\u201d to those who file claims. It will issue claims through Dec. 1, 2028, right before Trump\u2019s term ends. The fund will be run by a five-person board, which will be appointed by the attorney general. One of the members will also be appointed \u201cin consultation with congressional leadership,\u201d and Trump will have the power to remove the board members, the DOJ said. The $1.776 billion allocated for the fund will be used to both pay out claims, and on administrative costs associated with running the fund.<\/p>\n

Chief Critics<\/h2>\n

Democrats, ethics experts and other groups have decried the $1.8 billion fund since ABC first reported last week that it could come to fruition. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, said Monday the fund \u201cwill be the most brazen theft and abuse of taxpayer dollars by any president in American history,\u201d and Brandon DeBot, policy director at the Tax Law Center at New York University, described the settlement Monday as \u201ca breathtaking abuse of the tax and legal system.\u201d <\/p>\n

Could Trump Use The Settlement Fund To Pay Himself?<\/h2>\n

It\u2019s unclear. ABC\u2019s reporting<\/a> last week suggested the proposed settlement fund could not be used to make payments to Trump directly, even though the president claims he was a victim of the Biden administration\u2019s purported \u201cweaponization\u201d of the DOJ. It would not bar entities related to Trump from applying for payouts from the fund, ABC reported, however, which means Trump\u2019s businesses could try to get money from it. The DOJ\u2019s filing Monday did not include any specific terms regarding who can and can\u2019t get payouts from the new fund.<\/p>\n

Can A Judge Stop Trump From Settling With The Irs?<\/h2>\n

Probably not. Legal experts cited<\/a> by The Times said if Trump were to settle with the IRS before Williams could rule on whether or not the lawsuit could move forward, the judge\u2019s hands would be tied when it comes to allowing the settlement to go through. Williams would be unable to stop any private transactions between Trump and the IRS from taking place after the case has been dropped, even if she were to determine the lawsuit was invalid to begin with.<\/p>\n

Key Background<\/h2>\n

Trump, his sons and the Trump Organization sued the IRS in January, alleging the agency violated his privacy by not keeping his tax returns sufficiently confidential. Former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn was previously sentenced to five years in prison for passing details of Trump\u2019s taxes on to ProPublica and other news organizations, which Trump alleged resulted in false reporting that \u201ccaused Plaintiffs reputational and financial harm, public embarrassment, unfairly tarnished their business reputations, portrayed them in a false light, and negatively affected President Trump.\u201d Trump\u2019s tax returns have been a source of public fascination and controversy since the president first failed to release them before the 2016 election, and reporting from The Times and other outlets suggested<\/a> Trump paid no income taxes for many years and used some \u201cquestionable measures\u201d to lower his tax bill, which Trump disputes. The settlement fund comes as many Jan. 6 rioters who were convicted during the Biden administration for storming the Capitol have since sought money from the government, either in the form of refunds for the restitution they paid or bigger million-dollar payouts for the purported harm they faced by being prosecuted. Democrats have sought to pass legislation that would block such payouts, but those bills remain a longshot to pass in the GOP-controlled Congress.<\/p>\n

Further Reading<\/h2>\n

Forbes<\/span>Trump\u2019s IRS Lawsuit Could Be Invalid\u2014Here\u2019s Why He Could Still Get $1.7 Billion Anyway<\/span>By Alison Durkee<\/span><\/small><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Topline President Donald Trump voluntarily dropped his $10 billion against the IRS on Monday in exchange for a $1.8 billion \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund that is expected to pay out money to Jan. 6 rioters, a broadly controversial move that\u2019s already drawn widespread outrage from Democrats and ethics experts. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12959,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12958"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12958\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}