On January 29, 2026, convicted felon/sexual abuser/President Donald Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit (pdf) against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), in the first-ever instance of a U.S. president suing a federal agency he leads. With Trump as both plaintiff and defendant in the suit, he was effectively suing himself, a legally dubious maneuver since the suit lacked the minimum requirement to file a lawsuit: two opposing parties. With Trump effectively on both sides, there was no real adversary in the suit. Trump claims to have filed the lawsuit in response to an IRS contractor leaking his tax returns during his first term as president. In October of 2023, the contractor who leaked his tax documents pleaded guilty and is now serving 5 years in prison for the release.
Ninety three members of the U.S. House of Representatives submitted an amicus brief (pdf) urging the Court to dismiss the case, saying Trump’s suit did not meet the controversy requirement and “raises the specter of corruption unparalleled in American history.” The House Committee on the Judiciary called the lawsuit unethical, unlawful, “fake,” a “scam” and “one of the most brazen examples of corruption we’ve seen from this administration.”
On May 18, amid on onslaught of challenges to the validity of his lawsuit, Trump asked the Court to dismiss the lawsuit immediately. The court complied, dismissed the suit and closed the case.
That same day, Trump had his former personal attorney and now current acting head of the Department of Justice (DOJ), Todd Blanche, issue an order (pdf) making the U.S. Department of the Treasury transfer $1.776 billion in taxpayer money to a new account that Blanche dubbed the “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” to be used to pay Trump’s allies, criminals like members of the Proud Boys, who committed violence and attacked law enforcement officers on Jan. 6 on Trump’s behalf. Blanche described the new fund as a “settlement” of Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit, but since his lawsuit was closed by the Court, the fund was created outside of Court, meaning Trump’s “Anti-Weaponization” fund was entirely unvetted and escaped scrutiny by any judge. It also violated the Constitutional requirement that Congress appropriate funds, not the Executive branch. Members of Congress dubbed it a “slush fund.”
The slush fund has been called a heist on the American people, and the worst of Trump’s slew of corrupts moves so far. Right wing podcaster Joe Rogan called it “crazy.” An opinion column in the New York Times says Trump has gone “full mob boss” with creation of the slush fund. Texas Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher introduced the “No Presidential Self-Serving Lawsuits Act” to try to stop Trump’s self-serving and highly corrupt efforts to illegally seize taxpayer money and use it to pay his allies.
Blanche says the fund was established to compensate individuals who fancy themselves as harmed in some way by the federal government, and said anyone could apply to the fund for payment. When questioned by Congress, Blanche refused to rule out that convicted criminals who participated in the January 6, 2021 insurrection and assaulted law enforcement officers could get money from the fund. Tina Peters’ financial benefactor, Mike Lindell, has already announced he is going to apply for $400 million from the fund.
In a separate, one-page secret addendum to the settlement called a “release of claims,” dated May 19, 2026, that Blanche wrote forever signs away all claims against Trump by the U.S. It says Trump can never be investigated, audited or sued by the U.S. government at any time in the future, period. That includes by any government agency, like the IRS, DOJ, Treasury Department, etc. The document effectively ends any and all ongoing audits of Trump and all of his companies. But there’s more: It also forfeits the right of the United States to ever collect any taxes that Trump or his businesses owe they country, and waives the government’s right to try to reclaim any of the money Trump stole from taxpayers. It also gives up the right of the government to sue him for damages or pursue any legal recourse against Donald Trump at all for anything he’s ever done. It binds the U.S. forever, meaning it applies even after Trump and Blanche leave office. And the “release of claims” isn’t just limited to Trump and Blanche. It also signs away any chance to pursue claims against Trump’s family members, companies or associates.
“This is a staggering betrayal of the public trust. Even compared to other bad acts by this administration, this one stands out as especially unforgivably corrupt. Trump and Blanche are colluding together to give away our money, our rights and our democracy. Please sound the alarm. This is truly an emergency situation. Share this information with your friends, and neighbors and make sure they understand how corrupt and unconscionable this is,” says Liz Oyer, former pardon attorney for the Department of Justice.