Trump IRS Lawsuit Shocks The Country
President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, has suddenly dropped his unprecedented case against the Internal Revenue Service of America after suing it on account of its $10 billion lawsuit regarding the leak of his tax returns.
The $10 billion lawsuit, which was filed by Trump, his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization, alleged that the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department of America failed to protect Trump’s confidential tax information from getting leaked while he was still the president.
This case has been withdrawn with prejudice, which means that it can never be reinstated again. While the filing of the suit did not provide much explanation for why this case had been withdrawn, one thing is for sure: the timing could not have been better.
The Tax Leak That Triggered the Controversy
This controversy has its origin in the leaking of Donald Trump’s tax documents by Charles Littlejohn who worked for the former IRS contractor. The tax documents attracted many media headlines after the revelation that Trump had failed to pay any federal income tax over several years when he was operating his empire.
Littlejohn confessed to leaking the classified documents and served a jail term of five years. (reuters.com)
From the perspective of Trump and his supporters, this leak became a case of political persecution within the federal government framework. Supporters accused the leak to be politically motivated against Trump.
But from the point of view of the media reports, the leaks appeared to be in the interest of public domain in the financial matters of a president.
Why the Lawsuit is Unique
First, it seemed that the lawsuit was unprecedented since Trump was still serving in his position as the president of the country and was in charge of those agencies that he sued.
According to reports, a federal judge by the name of Kathleen Williams asked whether there were any constitutional confrontations resulting from the lawsuit due to the fact that an executive branch sued itself.
It is true that the legal experts said that it was an unprecedented situation since it was not common to have such a lawsuit filed against oneself.
News of a Huge Compensation Scheme Causes Commotion
The decision to withdraw the case comes amid news of a $1.7 billion compensation scheme linked to individuals alleging themselves as victims of political persecution by the government in prior probes.
According to the reports, negotiations had started on a taxpayer-funded scheme to compensate Trump’s buddies and other people who feel they are victims of political persecution under the present administration.
These reports have caused an instant commotion among many critics.
Many Democrat lawmakers and ethics watchdog organizations have branded this scheme as an abusive misuse of executive authority since this could blur the line between private political interests and government authority.
Others still have referred to this as a taxpayer-funded “slush fund” for political buddies.
Supporters of Trump Defend the Move
Supporters of Trump continue to defend the move and the reasons behind it.
According to them, the leaking of confidential tax documents amounted to a serious offense committed within the ranks of the federal government, and the only thing left to do was to take a firm stance and hold the offenders accountable for their actions. Investigations into the finances of Trump are seen as a political move intended to bring him down.
Courtesy of Brian Copeland (Flickr CC0)Withdrawing from the case may be a sign of a different tactic on the part of the supporters.
Conservative columnists have suggested that Trump has a wide range of other options to choose from besides pursuing his legal battles.
The Political Storm That Doesn’t Seem to Have an End Yet
Although the case may have been resolved, its political and legal implications may be just beginning.
There is still a question as to whether the compensation scheme will be implemented at all, where the money will come from, and even if the government itself will become involved, and taxpayers will have to pay for it.
Besides, the case has once again raised questions about:
- executive powers,
- transparency of government,
- taxpayers’ accountability,
- and executive influence.
Now, with the surprise decision of the President of the United States to abandon the case and avoid paying millions of dollars to the IRS, the tax leaks scandal has turned into an even more political issue than it was before.
By David Loran Jr
A successful Editor-in-Chief, journalist for over 6 years, writing about important topics that are going on within the U.S. and beyond.
Sources:
NBC News: Trump drops ‘unprecedented’ $10 billion lawsuit against IRS over leaked tax records
CNBC News: U.S. creates $1.7B ‘lawfare’ fund in exchange for Trump dropping $10B IRS suit
Anchorage Daily News: Trump moves to dismiss $10B suit against IRS over tax returns leak
Featured Image Courtesy of Alpha Photo‘s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Brian Copeland’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
