House Democrats accuse Trump of ‘corruption unparalleled’ over IRS settlement talks
House Democrats accuse Trump of ‘corruption unparalleled’ over IRS settlement talks
House Democrats filed an amicus brief arguing Trump is working to “undermine the Constitution” by seeking a settlement from the IRS over the leak of his tax returns years ago.
In a new court filing, House Democrats objected to a potential settlement in the works between President Donald Trump and his own administration, warning it creates the “specter of corruption unparalleled in American history.”
In a new amicus brief filed Monday in the Southern District of Florida — and shared first with MS NOW — the Democrats argue the president is working to “undermine the Constitution” through his months-old lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service and a reported pending deal, which they say amounts to a “slush fund” for the president and his allies.
These Democrats urge Judge Kathleen Williams to dismiss the president’s lawsuit and closely scrutinize any potential deal.
“Never in the history of the United States has a sitting President sought a monetary settlement from the government he leads — let alone sought many billions of dollars in taxpayer funds,” the Democrats wrote.
Legal experts balk at ‘unprecedented’ $1.7 billion potential Trump-IRS settlement May 17, 2026 / 06:14
In January, Trump, his two eldest sons, and his business sued the IRS — which Trump currently oversees as president — over the unauthorized leak of his tax returns by a government contractor. They asked for $10 billion in damages.
But then, late last week, ABC News reported that Trump may drop the lawsuit against the IRS in exchange for the creation of a $1.7 billion compensation fund that could be used to pay the president’s allies who claim to have been wrongfully targeted by the Biden administration’s “weaponization” — including, reportedly, the roughly 1,600 defendants charged in connection to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
That report immediately drew concern from Democrats.
In a Monday morning filing, Trump moved to drop the $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, though that doesn’t rule out the possibility of a settlement with the IRS — like the one Trump has discussed.
And in their brief, the Democrats argue that such a move — ”filing a collusive lawsuit only to immediately dismiss it in order to produce a collusive settlement” would be “legally barred.”
“It would also raise serious questions about whether the parties have manipulated the court system to achieve illicit ends,” they add.
The amicus brief is led by Rep. Joe Neguse of Colorado, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts, and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York. All told, 93 House Democrats co-signed the brief.
In the filing, the Democrats argue first and foremost that the judge should dismiss the case, saying the president is effectively “self-dealing” because he has a role on both sides of the litigation. He is, after all, both the person suing the IRS and the man in charge of overseeing the IRS.
“This President,” the Democrats write, “has continually asserted a maximalist view of his own Executive authority, foreclosing any possible argument that the agencies appearing here as Defendants have autonomy or independence from him.”
Notably, the U.S. district court judge in this case had already asked the Department of Justice and Trump’s legal team to explain whether the case can even be heard by the court given Trump’s presence on both sides of the matter. She gave them a May 20 deadline.
In their friend of the court filing, the Democrats also argue that any settlement in this case would amount to a “straightforward violation” of the Domestic Emoluments Clause in the Constitution — in other words, the acceptance of gifts and payments from domestic institutions.
“Should this lawsuit achieve Plaintiffs’ desired ends, it would result in the improper and unconstitutional transfer of taxpayer dollars into the pockets of the President, his family, and his allies,” the Democrats write.
‘Trying to empower militia groups’: Lawyer on Trump’s plans to reward Jan. 6 rioters with IRS fund May 16, 2026 / 13:37
They also take issue with the reported potential creation of a $1.7 billion fund to compensate individuals allegedly harmed by the Biden administration — arguing it would be “statutorily and constitutionally” inappropriate.
Recipients of this funding, the Democrats note, would not have claims related to the “statutory causes of action” in this case.
And, they argue, it would violate constitutional norms about federal spending — namely that Congress controls the purse strings. “Congress has not authorized any fund, much less one involving billions of taxpayer dollars, for these purposes,” the Democrats write.
Democrats have promised to make rooting out corruption a central tenet of their oversight focus, should they win back control of the House in the fall’s midterm elections.
In a statement, Neguse — who heads the House Democrats’ Litigation Task Force, which was set up last year to push back on the Trump White House — wrote, “Donald Trump’s absurd $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS is one of the most brazen examples of corruption we’ve seen from this administration.”
“House Democrats are taking a stand for the American taxpayers that would be forced to foot the bill for this mess, and are calling on the court to block any unconstitutional settlements in the matter,” Neguse said.
Why Trump’s stock trades are so exceptionally corrupt
The president continues to find new, once-unimaginable ways to use the awesome powers of the federal government to enrich himself.
Donald Trump is the most corrupt president in American history.
Just this week, we found out that in the first quarter of the year, Trump made more than 3,700 financial trades, worth tens of millions of dollars. That averages out to 59 trades a day and nine trades per hour.
The conflicts of interest and personal corruption are simply astonishing. Many of the companies do business with the federal government. In fact, Trump allegedly bought stock in Amazon and Microsoft months before the Pentagon announced agreements with both companies.
Earlier this year, Trump bought a sizable amount of Nvidia stock right before the artificial intelligence chipmaker received permission to export its advanced H200 AI processors to China. Not surprisingly, Nvidia’s stock shot up, earning Trump a tidy profit.
Trump also bought a significant share of Intel, the chipmaker the Trump administration took a 10% stake in last year. The company’s stock is up 178% since the beginning of the year. According to Popular Information, an independent newsletter that reviewed the disclosures, Trump bought between $1 million and $5 million in Dell stock, and then nine days later, in a speech in Georgia, told people to “go out and buy a Dell computer.”
“Neither President Trump, his family, nor The Trump Organization plays any role in selecting, directing, or approving specific investments,” the Trump Organization said in a statement. “They receive no advance notice of trading activity and provide no input regarding investment decisions or portfolio management of any kind.”
Even if it’s true that Trump is not involved in these stock purchases, the mere appearance of a conflict of interest is why, in the past, presidents have avoided day trading while in office. But not Trump.
These stock sales are bad enough, but with Trump, there’s always a worse tale to tell.
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Trump’s IRS suit ends with $1.8B compensation fund – but who is this money going to?May 18, 2026 / 04:43
The Department of Justice agreed Monday to settle a $10 billion lawsuit brought by the president against the IRS, by establishing a $1.776 billion fund to provide what the department says will be “a systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare” under former President Joe Biden.
In other words, the Justice Department has created a slush fund for Trump officials to dole out billions to his political allies and supporters who were prosecuted during the last administration, which could very well include those who were convicted for their actions on Jan. 6. It’s not enough that Trump pardoned his supporters, who stormed the Capitol and tried to stop the certification of the 2020 election. Now he’s ensuring that they get paid — with taxpayer dollars.
Trump officials orchestrated the creation of the fund after the president formally withdrew his lawsuit, thereby preventing the federal judge in the case, Kathleen M. Williams, from approving a settlement agreement. So instead, what we have is a deal between Donald Trump, the president, and Donald Trump, a former private citizen, to create a roughly $1.8 billion fund that will be distributed with no oversight beyond that of officials appointed by Trump.
It’s difficult to imagine a more egregious violation of the public trust, but then again, in Trump’s second term, this kind of corruption is as common as a day that ends in “y.”
Trump and his family have invested heavily in cryptocurrency, so the Trump administration has relaxed regulatory standards on the crypto industry.
Earlier this month, Trump met with a group of executives from the tobacco industry, which has given millions in campaign contributions to Trump-related causes, including his proposed White House ballroom. They complained about the Food and Drug Administration’s regulation of e-cigarettes, and Trump immediately called Dr. Marty Makary, who ran the agency, and demanded a regulatory change. Less than a week later, the FDA issued new guidance that relaxed federal rules on the sale of flavored vapes. Makary resigned in protest.
Perhaps the most egregious example of corruption is Trump’s manipulation of the president’s unilateral and unreviewable pardon power into a pay-for-play system in which lawbreakers hire lobbyists to persuade the president to let them avoid justice. The lobbyists’ going price, according to The Wall Street Journal, is $1 million. Meanwhile, those without deep pockets, who have followed the standard rules for pardon applications, are left waiting.
According to one estimate by The New Yorker, Trump and his family have taken in nearly $4 billion since he took office in January 2025.
But that story — like Trump’s stock sales, like the billions he’s made in crypto while deregulating the industry, like his relaxing public health regulations to benefit his donors, like his selling of presidential pardons and like his nearly $1.8 billion slush fund — will quickly be forgotten. Just throw it in the pile of Trump’s ever-teetering pile of corrupt acts.
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Fmr. GOP strategist slams Republicans: ‘I’m just glad these guys weren’t around in 1776’May 18, 2026 / 04:43
Sure, congressional Democrats will complain, but it’s not like they can do much about it. Republicans, who control Congress and spent years complaining about the alleged corruption of the Biden family, will say nothing. There will be no hearings, no congressional investigations and not even a press statement complaining that the president of the United States is using his position to financially benefit himself, his supporters and, above all, his donors. Instead, Republicans will continue to see no evil and hear no evil routine they’ve perfected for the past 10 years.
To be sure, voters can do something about it in November, and from all indications, a healthy majority is fed up with Trump. But their anger has as much to do with higher prices at the pumps and the grocery store as with Trump’s egregious corruption.
Even if Democrats win big in November and they decide to go down the impeachment trail once again, there’s zero reason to expect Senate Republicans will grow enough courage to do anything about it.
May you like
Until Trump leaves the White House, he will continue to find new, once-unimaginable ways to use the awesome powers of the federal government to enrich himself.
And a nation that once took public corruption and self-dealing seriously and expected its leaders not to use public office for private gain will steadily move further and further away from our founding ideals.
