Thirty-five former federal judges filed a court motion Wednesday arguing that a dismissed $10 billion lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump against the Internal Revenue Service should be reopened so a judge can investigate whether fraud occurred.
According to CNBC, Trump, his two eldest sons, and the Trump Organization dropped the case on May 18. The lawsuit had been based on leaks of their tax information by a former IRS employee in 2019 and 2020. Federal Judge Kathleen Williams of Miami District Court ordered the case dismissed with prejudice, while noting that the move canceled an upcoming deadline tied to her own efforts to scrutinize the matter.
Williams also noted in her ruling that the plaintiffs made no reference to a settlement and that the defendants submitted no settlement documents.
The same day the case was dropped, the Department of Justice announced that as part of a settlement agreement, the U.S. attorney general would establish a $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund." One day later, the DOJ revealed an addendum to the settlement that effectively shielded the plaintiffs and certain affiliates from any IRS enforcement regarding their past tax returns.
"The Court was deceived," the former judges wrote in their court filing.
"Despite Plaintiffs not having mentioned any settlement in their Notice, the [DOJ] publicly announced a 'settlement' of this action shortly after Plaintiffs filed their dismissal," they wrote.
The ex-judges argued that the settlement "raises profound questions about the parties' candor toward the Court and manipulation of the judicial system, which threatens to undermine confidence in the administration of justice."
The filing asserts that the settlement is a "product of collusion and is itself a fraud on the Court." The retired judges are seeking to raise a challenge through Rule 60 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which they argue allows Williams to reopen the case. They also urged her to reopen the proceeding on her own authority.
In either scenario, the judges want the court to "set aside the judgment in this lawsuit," so it can "resume its inquiry into whether there is an actual underlying case or controversy, or whether, to the contrary, this 'case' that the parties purport to have 'settled' is itself a fraud on the Court."
Among those who signed the filing is J. Michael Luttig, a retired judge who previously testified before the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
The White House referred questions to the Department of Justice, which did not respond to a request for comment. The IRS and the Trump Organization also did not respond.
