The federal judge handling President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has raised concern about whether the case can proceed, considering the president is suing the federal government he himself oversees.
In an order issued on Friday in Miami, Florida, District Judge Kathleen M. Williams cast doubt over whether the lawsuit’s parties are “sufficiently adverse” to each other to justify the courts being involved.
“Although President Trump avers that he is bringing this lawsuit in his personal capacity, he is the sitting president and his named adversaries are entities whose decisions are subject to his direction,” she wrote.
It is “unclear,” according to the judge, whether the Constitution allows for the president to sue the IRS.
Judge Williams mentioned Article III of the Constitution, which establishes the judicial branch and vests judicial power onto the Supreme Court and the lower courts, ensuring their independence from the executive and legislative branches.
She noted that the Trump administration has sought to expand presidential power, including by issuing an executive order barring employees of the executive branch “acting in their official capacity” to advance an interpretation of the law contravening the president’s opinion on a matter of law, “including but not limited to […] positions advanced in litigation.”
Williams wrote in her Friday order: “One such employee of the executive branch, the Attorney General, has a statutory obligation to defend the IRS when it is hailed into court, but then is ostensibly required by executive mandate to adhere to the President’s opinion on a matter of law in such a case.”
This, she added, “raises questions over whether the Parties here are truly antagonistic to each other.”
What Is the Lawsuit About?
Trump, two of his sons—Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump—and his namesake organization sued the IRS and the Treasury Department on January 29 over the leak of his tax returns in 2023, during his first mandate. That same year, a former IRS contractor—Charles Littlejohn—pleaded guilty to leaking the documents.
In the lawsuit, the president accused the two government agencies, now under his control, of failing in their “duty to safeguard and protect Plaintiffs’ confidential tax returns and related tax return information from such unauthorized inspection and public disclosure.”
This caused Trump, the Trump Organization, and his two sons “reputational and financial harm, public embarrassment, unfairly tarnished their business reputations, portrayed them in a false light, and negatively affected President Trump, and the other Plaintiffs’ public standing.”
The suit, filed in a Florida court, is seeking $10 billion in damages.
Trump and the two government agencies are currently “in discussions” about settlement options to resolve the issue. Attorneys for the president have asked for a 90-day deadline extension so they can “engage in discussions designed to resolve this matter and to avoid protracted litigation.”
“The Parties are engaging in discussions and need time to work through how to ensure those discussions can take place productively to avoid protracted litigation,” the attorneys said in a filing on April 17. “This brief period will allow the Parties to initiate and structure those discussions in a manner that best serves the interests of all Parties and the Court.”
Judge Williams denied the request on Friday. The Department of Justice has not yet responded to the lawsuit.
What Happens Next?
Judge Williams ordered both attorneys for Trump and the Department of Justice to submit briefs about why the case should not be tossed out, giving them a deadline of May 27 to do so.
What they need to demonstrate is that the lawsuit is “a dispute between parties who face each other in an adversary proceeding.”
There is a chance that Trump’s attorney and the Department of Justice could reach a settlement before that. In that case, the Trump administration would be paying the president, his son, and his organization the sum agreed.
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