On May 18, documents submitted to the court confirmed that Trump voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit he filed against the IRS.
In January, Trump claimed that the IRS and the Treasury Department failed to adequately protect sensitive tax information, resulting in financial and reputational harm.
The lawsuit stemmed from a tax information leak involving former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn, who pleaded guilty to providing Trump’s tax information and that of other high-income individuals to the media. He was sentenced to five years in prison. Trump's team has argued that the government failed to fulfill its duty to protect taxpayer information.
Along with the lawsuit withdrawal, a separate compensation fund is being established. The Trump administration plans to create a $1.776 billion fund to compensate individuals who claim to have suffered due to politically motivated investigations and government abuse of power.
Reuters reported that this fund is part of an agreement to conclude Trump's unusual lawsuit against the federal government while he is still in office.
It has been reported that Trump and his family will not receive direct cash compensation from this agreement. The fund will be managed to review claims from individuals who assert they were harmed by government 'weaponization.'
The fund has sparked controversy, with Democrats and watchdog groups criticizing it as a potential avenue for compensating Trump associates or individuals involved in the January 6 Capitol riot. Conversely, Trump's camp maintains that it is a mechanism to assist those harmed by government overreach.
The withdrawal of this lawsuit, coinciding with the establishment of a government compensation fund, is unprecedented for a sitting president. As the court was preparing to assess the legal standing of the lawsuit, a settlement was reached, suggesting ongoing debates about the legal basis for the fund, its beneficiaries, and congressional oversight are likely to continue.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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