MS NOW-A judge blocked Trump's 'slush fund' for now -- but an addendum remains

[LetMyPeopleVote]

A memo from acting Attorney General Todd Blanche was intended to thwart any audits or tax liability for the president, but it raises serious legal questions.

Link to tweet

https://www.ms.now/news/news-analysis/a-judge-blocked-trumps-slush-fund-for-now-but-an-addendum-remains

The Justice Department released a one-page document, signed only by acting attorney General Todd Blanche, that releases Trump, his family and his companies from — and bars the federal government from pursuing — any and all claims, lawsuits or relief of any kind that were asserted, or could have been asserted, by the Treasury Department or the IRS against them as of May 18, 2026.

Put simply, the acting attorney general has, with a single piece of paper, sought to erase any tax-related liability, civil or criminal, that any Trump or related business had as of last month.

And the breadth of that release — as well as who granted it and how — has many tax law experts sounding the alarm.

Brandon DeBot and Dave Hubbert of NYU’s Tax Law Center have observed that Blanche had no power to release the Trumps and their companies from tax-related liability. While the attorney general has broad settlement authority in cases, they note that Justice Department policy prohibits them from settling matters that have not been referred to the department for prosecution or defense.

David Ogden, a senior counsel with Democracy Defenders Fund and himself a former deputy attorney general, explained to MS NOW that as a result, the DOJ “doesn’t necessarily have the power to bind the IRS on every potential claim.” While Trump was litigating against the IRS for an alleged violation of his privacy rights, there are no other publicly known, tax-related matters that have been referred to the department.

Ogden added that Blanche’s addendum “would provide benefits to third parties” who were not themselves plaintiffs to Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS, which he said constitutes a violation of the Justice Department’s own policies.....

Still, whether or not any individual person or organization could directly challenge the release, 35 former federal judges have petitioned Judge Kathleen Williams, who oversaw the now-dismissed IRS lawsuit, to reopen the case. Their motion not only highlights the Anti-Weaponization Fund but also the “extremely broad” addendum that, in their reading, “sweeps in [IRS] audits of Plaintiffs’ tax returns and all other claims the United States might have against Plaintiffs.”

Williams has signaled that she is considering both that motion and whether she has the power, under a court rule governing attorney conduct, to sanction any of the Trump parties or their lawyers.

But could Williams actually invalidate the addendum? That too is unclear, if not unlikely. For now, barring legislation or an unforeseen lawsuit, her court seems like the best, and potentially only, option to reverse Trump’s “get out of taxes free” card.

I personally believe that this "agreement" lacks consideration and is not enforceable against the next administration

[Scrivener7]

1. Their capitulation on the slush fund makes me wonder

if the tax exemption wasn't the plan all along.