Trump appeals ruling over $10 billion IRS suit as judge’s rebuke stands
MIAMI — President Donald Trump on Friday appealed a federal judge’s ruling that accused him of filing a bad-faith $10 billion lawsuit to secure a
MIAMI — President Donald Trump on Friday appealed a federal judge’s ruling that accused him of filing a bad-faith $10 billion lawsuit to secure a favorable settlement. The notice was filed in federal court in Miami just hours after Trump complained that the $1.776 billion “lawfare” fund tied to the deal had been scrapped.
The appeal puts the dispute back before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. It also keeps alive a political and legal fight over a settlement Trump had touted as a way to win tax immunity and create a fund for supporters, even as the court had already blocked him from using the deal in official proceedings.
Judge called the case improper
Florida federal Judge Kathleen M. Williams had ruled on July 13 that Trump, his two oldest sons, the Trump Organization and two lawyers could not rely on or cite the deal in official matters. In her order, Williams wrote that Trump controls the Justice Department, which represented the IRS, and said the agreement amounted to self-dealing.
She also said the lawsuit 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,” according to the ruling.
The underlying suit sought to close a $10 billion claim brought by Trump, his sons and his business against the IRS. The notice of appeal covers Trump, his sons, the business and the lawyers involved in the case.
Political fallout reaches the Senate
Trump’s frustration spilled into public view at a Cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday afternoon. “They’ve agreed to not have a fund. But there are a lot of people that are very upset about it,” he said.
The controversy has now landed in the Senate, where his nominee for U.S. attorney general, Todd Blanche, is facing opposition from a handful of Republican holdouts. They want written confirmation that the fund is truly dead before moving ahead.
For Trump, the appeal is one more front in a widening legal battle over how far a president can push the machinery of government around a personal dispute. The Eleventh Circuit will now decide whether Williams’ order stands, while Blanche’s confirmation remains stuck on the same question: whether the fund is, in fact, finished.
