WASHINGTON, DC — Today, a federal judge ruled that President Trump’s settlement with the IRS was a sham, finding that Trump and the IRS were never truly adverse parties as the Constitution requires in civil lawsuits, and barred Trump and the Justice Department from using the settlement in any future proceeding. This is the same settlement Todd Blanche engineered to create a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” and shield Trump’s family from tax enforcement. The judge went further, directing that a copy of her ruling be sent to the State Bar of New York, where Blanche is a member, as part of disciplinary proceedings already underway against him.
In response, the Not Above the Law coalition’s co-chairs – Lisa Gilbert, Co-President of Public Citizen; Praveen Fernandes, Vice President of the Constitutional Accountability Center; Kelsey Herbert, Campaign Director at MoveOn; and Brett Edkins, Managing Director for Policy and Political Affairs at Stand Up America – issued the following statement:
“A federal judge just confirmed what we’ve said all along: Todd Blanche’s $1.8 billion slush fund was a backroom deal designed to protect Donald Trump and his family from the IRS. Blanche’s fingerprints are all over it, yet he has refused to answer basic questions about it, including who stood to benefit. Now, as he asks the Senate to confirm him as Attorney General, he’s facing potential bar discipline over his conduct at the Justice Department.
“Todd Blanche has spent his career protecting Trump instead of upholding the law: burying the Epstein files, working to erase January 6 convictions, and now engineering a sham deal to shield Trump’s family from the IRS. A nominee under active disciplinary review for his conduct at the DOJ has no business leading it. The Senate must reject this nomination.”
For questions about our work to hold Trump accountable or to request an interview with a Not Above the Law coalition leader, please email press@focalpointstrategygroup.com.