Trump settlement – A settlement drafted by acting attorney Todd Blanche shields Donald Trump and his family from tax liability tied to a lawsuit over leaked tax returns—while a separate $1.8 billion fund for “victims of lawfare” faces mounting legal and political resistance, inc
By the time the legal paperwork landed, Donald Trump had already framed the dispute as something he could negotiate—while standing on both sides of the case.
On Jan. 31, 2026, asked by a reporter what it was like to be “on both sides of a lawsuit,” Trump answered, “ … I’m supposed to work out a settlement with myself…”. That line now reads like a roadmap for what followed: a chain of filings. denials. and new legal maneuvers that culminated in a settlement designed to keep Trump’s family away from tax audits that could have cost them $100 million.
The settlement—authored by acting attorney Todd Blanche. who has served as Trump’s personal attorney—was released after the Justice Department agreed to create a $1.8 billion fund for “victims of lawfare and weaponization.” After backlash. Blanche said the fund won’t move forward. but continued to litigate lawsuits questioning its legality. A judge then extended an indefinite block on the fund in one of the cases. The tax deal, however, remained in place.
Blanche’s decision to release Trump and his family from tax liability was reported as an outcome that could have cost $100 million if Trump lost the case, according to the New York Times and ProPublica.
The timing mattered. The day before the settlement, two police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 filed suit to block the $1.8 billion fund. describing it as “the most brazen act of presidential corruption this century.” One day later. another lawsuit was filed in Virginia. arguing the fund was created after a collusive agreement between Trump and his own administration without congressional authorization. A week after that. thirty-five former federal judges asked the Miami federal judge who closed Trump’s case against the IRS to reopen it.
The legal sequence began long before the settlement.
In 1929, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Myers v. U.S. that department heads are the “President’s alter ego.” More than eight decades later, on Jan. 29. 2026. Trump sued the IRS and the Department of the Treasury for $10 billion over the leak of his tax returns by a former contractor who worked for Booz Allen.
On April 24, the judge in that case questioned whether the case was legitimate, given that Trump was on both sides of it, and ordered the parties to file briefs taking a position on the matter by May 20.
Less than a month later, the Justice Department disclosed its plan for the $1.8 billion fund on May 18. The next day, May 19, Blanche released Trump and his family from tax liability that could have cost $100 million.
Around the same period, critics escalated their efforts to stop the fund. On May 20, the officers’ lawsuit landed in court. On May 22, the Virginia lawsuit followed. Then, on May 27, thirty-five former federal judges filed asking the Miami judge to reopen the IRS case.
By June 3, the political pressure was clear enough that Blanche told reporters the fund will not move forward—while also emphasizing that Trump’s tax deal remains in place.
The courts then added force to that standoff. On June 12, a judge in the Virginia case blocked the fund indefinitely, giving Blanche and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent a week to sign a sworn statement stating the fund would not go forward or the lawsuit would continue.
Taken together, the facts create a stark contrast: the fund tied to “lawfare and weaponization” collided with swift judicial resistance, while the settlement shielding Trump from potential tax audits held steady.
The situation is still unfolding, and more legal filings are expected as the fund’s legality remains under challenge even as the tax deal stays in effect.
Donald Trump Todd Blanche IRS lawsuit tax audits $100 million $1.8 billion fund lawfare and weaponization Scott Bessent DOJ Miami federal judge Virginia lawsuit Jan. 6 police officers