35 Retired Federal Judges Slam Trump's 'Laughable' Defense of His 'Obviously Collusive' IRS Settlement

Key Points:

• Former federal judges, including Michael Luttig, allege that President Trump's lawsuit against the IRS was collusive, with both sides controlled by Trump, resulting in a fraudulent settlement that favored him, his family, and supporters.
• The lawsuit, filed by Trump claiming $10 billion in damages from an IRS contractor leak, was legally weak and missed statutory deadlines, yet the DOJ did not contest it, raising concerns about conflicts of interest and the integrity of the judicial process.
• The settlement included a controversial $1.8 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund, later scrapped amid bipartisan backlash, but retained broad immunity provisions shielding Trump and his family from past federal offenses and tax liabilities.
• The retired judges argue that the DOJ's failure to defend the IRS and the unprecedented settlement terms demonstrate fraud on the court, urging Judge Kathleen Williams to investigate and potentially sanction the parties for bad faith conduct.
• Trump's lawyers maintain the settlement was proper and the case adversarial, but critics highlight that the same person controlled both sides, rendering the lawsuit non-adversarial and jurisdictionally improper, with the settlement far exceeding any reasonable cost of defense.