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A group of four former IRS and DOJ officials has urged a federal court to rule that Trump’s tax audit immunity deal was unlawful.
Getting into it: The former officials, including ex-IRS Commissioner John Koskinen and former DOJ tax division leaders, filed an amicus brief Monday arguing that last month’s settlement, which rendered Trump, his family and business affiliates “forever” exempt from IRS claims on past tax returns, violates the Constitution’s Domestic Emoluments Clause. They warned it would “enshrine two separate tax codes,” one for Trump and his affiliates, another for every other American.
The deal stemmed from Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns, targeting the agencies he himself oversees. He voluntarily dropped the suit on May 18, and the next day acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed an order “forever” barring the government from examining the returns of Trump, his family or any “affiliated entities” on all claims “whether presently known or unknown.”
The officials argued the order goes way beyond taxes to shield non-tax conduct, and questioned whether the settlement and immunity order were “collusive.” They also said that Blanche lacked the authority to grant the immunity because the underlying dispute was never referred to the DOJ to weigh charges, accusing him of settling “a weak, time-barred” claim to hand Trump “a vastly disproportionate gift of total immunity.”
The case was reopened by US District Judge Kathleen Williams after 35 former federal judges alleged the settlement was a “fraud on the court.” Trump’s attorneys countered that the court has no power to review the deal, calling the challenge “transparently political.”
This all comes as Trump on Tuesday nominated James Gadwood, a tax lawyer from a firm that represents his holding company, to be the IRS’s chief counsel, adding to scrutiny over the audit immunity. Trump and his businesses have been hit with IRS audits over and over, with one outstanding dispute that could reportedly cost him more than $100 million.
