Former federal judges ask court to reopen Trump IRS case over settlement creating $1.776 billion fund

Wednesday, May 27, 2026U.S. PoliticsWell-covered5 frames

A group of 35 former federal judges filed a motion asking a federal court in Florida to reopen the dismissed lawsuit between President Donald Trump and the IRS.
The former judges said the court should investigate whether the out-of-court settlement amounted to fraud on the court because the settlement was not disclosed when the case was withdrawn.
Trump, two of his adult sons and the Trump Organization had sued the IRS and Treasury Department over leaks of their tax information, and they voluntarily withdrew the case before it was dismissed with prejudice.
After the case was withdrawn, the Justice Department announced a settlement that included creation of a $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund."
Multiple reports say the fund is intended to compensate people who claim they were targeted by the government for political or other improper reasons.
The settlement has drawn broader scrutiny because it would direct a large sum of federal money through a new compensation program and includes terms related to IRS claims involving Trump.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams dismissed the case after the plaintiffs withdrew it, noting that the filings did not reference a settlement and that no settlement documents were submitted to the court.
The former judges’ filing is the latest legal challenge to the settlement, and whether the case will be reopened now depends on how the court responds to their motion.

How left and right are reading this

Both agree: A settlement announced only after the case was withdrawn created a $1.776 billion compensation fund and now faces a serious court-focused challenge over whether keeping it out of the filings misled the judge who dismissed the suit.
They split on: Less a disagreement than a question of emphasis: the unusual scale and public-money design of the new compensation fund, versus the narrower procedural question of whether an undisclosed settlement improperly bypassed the court when the case was withdrawn.

A group of 35 former federal judges filed a motion asking a federal court in Florida to reopen the dismissed lawsuit between President Donald Trump and the IRS.
The former judges said the court should investigate whether the out-of-court settlement amounted to fraud on the court because the settlement was not disclosed when the case was withdrawn.
Trump, two of his adult sons and the Trump Organization had sued the IRS and Treasury Department over leaks of their tax information, and they voluntarily withdrew the case before it was dismissed with prejudice.
After the case was withdrawn, the Justice Department announced a settlement that included creation of a $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund."
Multiple reports say the fund is intended to compensate people who claim they were targeted by the government for political or other improper reasons.
The settlement has drawn broader scrutiny because it would direct a large sum of federal money through a new compensation program and includes terms related to IRS claims involving Trump.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams dismissed the case after the plaintiffs withdrew it, noting that the filings did not reference a settlement and that no settlement documents were submitted to the court.
The former judges’ filing is the latest legal challenge to the settlement, and whether the case will be reopened now depends on how the court responds to their motion.