Home - CBSNews.com | Ex-judges push to look into "anti-weaponization fund" deal

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Dozens of former federal judges have petitioned a court to revisit a controversial $1.776 billion “anti‑weaponization” settlement that resolved President Trump’s lawsuit accusing the IRS of leaking his tax returns. The judges argue that the deal—intended to create a fund for individuals claiming they were victimized by government “weaponization” and to bar the IRS from pursuing claims against Trump—is potentially fraudulent and was reached without a genuine case or controversy, suggesting the court was misled. They contend that Judge Kathleen Williams, who dismissed the original case, has the authority to set aside the judgment on grounds of fraud and that reopening the matter would allow an inquiry into the legitimacy of the settlement, which critics have dubbed a “slush fund” that could benefit Trump allies and even Jan. 6 pardoned rioters. The Justice Department defends the fund as non‑partisan, with payouts to be decided by a five‑person board appointed by the attorney general.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dozens-of-ex-judges-push-look-into-trump-anti-weaponization-fund-fraud-on-the-court/

#DonaldTrump #KathleenWilliams #MichaelLuttig #NancyGertner #IRS #JMichaelLuttig #ShiraScheindlin

Retired Federal Judge #NancyGertner, now a #HarvardLaw Prof files brief to 11th circuit #AppellatePanel joined by Citizens for Responsibility and #Ethics in Washington to complain about inexplicable failures and shoddy bias prone work done by Judge Aileen Cannon on Trump legal matters before court in #FLA. They cite a "lack of impartiality" and that case should be remanded to a more impartial judge in #SouthernDistrict.

A second group of former government officials and legal scholars has also filed a motion with the 11th Circuit asking for permission to file an amicus brief on the case

https://www.law.com/dailybusinessreview/2024/09/04/retired-us-judge-ethics-experts-ask-11th-circuit-to-reassign-trump-classified-docs-case/