One of the most controversial legal settlements of Donald Trump’s presidency just got even more suspicious.
Nobody can seem to find the paperwork.
A progressive watchdog group filed a Freedom of Information Act request looking for records related to Donald Trump’s controversial lawsuit against the IRS and the stunning settlement that followed. What they got back was astonishing.
According to the Department of Justice division that was supposed to be involved in the case, it can’t find any records. None. Zero.
Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington (CREW) requested documents related to Trump’s lawsuit and the settlement that eventually created a $1.776 billion fund for people claiming they were unfairly targeted for their political beliefs.
The DOJ’s Civil Division responded by saying it could not locate the case in its own case management system.
Even after checking with staff in the Office of the Assistant Attorney General, officials reportedly said they were unaware of any records connected to the matter.
We’re talking about one of the most controversial legal settlements of Trump’s presidency — one involving nearly $1.8 billion, special protections for the Trump family, and a massive political fund that critics have described as a slush fund for Trump allies.
And the Justice Department division that should have records of it says it can’t find any.
That’s a giant flashing red flag.
Trump, along with Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization, sued the IRS for $10 billion over the leak of tax return information by a former IRS contractor.
The settlement reached last month immediately sparked outrage.
Not only did it establish a $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund that critics say could be used to reward Trump allies and supporters, but it also reportedly included a pledge that the IRS would never audit Trump, his family, or their businesses again.
Think about how extraordinary that is.
A sitting president sues an agency that works for the federal government he controls.
The government then agrees to create a billion-dollar-plus fund tied to his political grievances.
And the tax agency promises his family will never face future audits.
Now we’re learning that the Justice Department apparently has no records explaining how any of it happened.
At best, that’s a breathtaking failure of recordkeeping involving nearly $2 billion and one of the most politically sensitive settlements in modern history.
At worst, it raises obvious questions about whether negotiations took place outside the normal legal channels that were supposed to oversee them.
Either way, the explanation doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.
The administration that constantly demands trust and transparency is now facing questions about why one of its biggest legal settlements appears to have left behind virtually no paper trail.
And when the answer to a simple records request is essentially “we can’t find anything,” that’s usually when people start asking even more questions.
Because billion-dollar settlements don’t normally just materialize out of thin air.
At least, they’re not supposed to.
