Trump's 'slush fund' hits wall as judges hurl fresh fraud claims: WaPo

Donald Trump's controversial settlement with the Department of Justice to establish a $1.8 billion "weaponization" fund and shield himself from IRS audits is facing a major legal challenge, with 35 retired federal judges — appointed by presidents of both parties — demanding the court investigate whether the deal constitutes fraud.

According to the Washington Post, the bipartisan group of former judges filed a motion in federal court in Florida alleging that Trump and federal prosecutors deliberately misled the court by failing to disclose the settlement when voluntarily dismissing the underlying IRS lawsuit.

The retired judges' filing directly challenges the legitimacy of the agreement. "The purported 'settlement' that the parties never placed before this Court raises profound questions about the parties' candor toward the Court and manipulation of the judicial system, which threatens to undermine confidence in the administration of justice," it read.

The judges called for U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams to set aside the judgment and reopen the case for "judicial review of the extraordinary — and historically unprecedented — circumstances presented by this litigation and by the collusive 'settlement.'"

Trump, his two eldest sons, and the Trump Organization filed the initial lawsuit against the IRS in January seeking as much as $10 billion in damages. The suit claimed damages for the theft of their tax filings by a former agency consultant who leaked them to news organizations, the Post is reporting.

Williams had previously expressed skepticism about the case itself, questioning whether the parties were "sufficiently adverse" given that Trump was simultaneously serving as president while suing the agencies he oversees.

The retired judges argued that Trump and the federal government are "improperly using the IRS lawsuit to allow a 'commission' controlled by the President to dole out $1.776 billion in taxpayer dollars without constitutional or congressional authority" and to obtain "unlawful private benefits to the President and his family" by permanently barring any audits of Trump's prior tax returns.

The filing represents the latest effort to block a settlement that would shield Trump from nearly $100 million in potential IRS liability while establishing a fund ostensibly designed to compensate others who claim they were targets of a "weaponized" justice system — but which critics say functions primarily as a slush fund for Trump allies and January 6 insurrectionists.