Quick update, and it’s good news for accountability.
Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit rejected President Trump’s request to stall penalties on himself in a case that has received a lot of attention. POGO and our partners helped make that happen, and so did you.
How we got here
In February, the president, his sons, and the Trump Organization sued the IRS over their leaked tax returns. They demanded at least $10 billion from the government for their “hardship.” Your money.
The conflict was glaring: The president was personally seeking billions from an agency within the executive branch he leads. The Justice Department — which is now run by his personal attorney — would decide whether to fight back. The conflicts abound.
Trump himself told reporters, “Essentially, the lawsuit’s been won. I guess I won a lotta money.” This is literally the definition of self-dealing.
What POGO did
We teamed up with Common Cause and four former senior government officials to file a court brief laying out the conflicts of interest and serious legal defects in the case. We argued that their demands exceeded the legal cap and that the statute of limitations had expired.
The Justice Department moved quickly to settle anyway. The deal would have created a $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization fund” the president could use to benefit his supporters, plus sweeping immunity for himself, his family, and his affiliates.
A corrupt settlement on a case that never should have been filed.
A federal judge threw out the settlement, called the case “collusive,” and penalized the president's lawyers. Trump tried to put those penalties on hold. Last week, the appeals court sided with us and said no.
What comes next
The trial court is still finalizing the penalties. We’ll keep watching that case as well as the ongoing appeal because abusing the legal process should carry consequences.
Your support helps POGO bring independent scrutiny to cases like this and keep pressing for accountability as they unfold.
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