Todd Blanche Unveils $1.776 Billion Fund to Settle $10 Billion Trump Tax-Return Suit
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 24
Todd Blanche Unveils $1.776 Billion Fund to Settle $10 Billion Trump Tax-Return Suit
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 24
Summary
$1.776 billion is the size of an “anti-weaponization fund” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche unveiled in May to resolve a $10 billion lawsuit over leaks of Trump’s tax returns.
The Treasury-financed fund would distribute money to people prosecuted by the Biden administration, a design critics say could steer federal money to Trump allies under the guise of settlement.
Donald K. Sherman of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington called the plan “one of the single most corrupt acts in American history,” tying it to broader concerns about self-dealing in Trump’s second presidency.
The article places the fund alongside other alleged benefits to Trump-linked interests, including at least $2.2 billion in first-year earnings, a $1.6 billion federally backed Kazakhstan-related project, and a $400 million Qatari jet.
Is the bigger story the money itself, or how modern ethics rules struggle when presidential families operate global businesses and crypto projects?
Judge Nullifies Trump’s $1.776 Billion IRS Settlement: Legal, Political, and Constitutional Fallout of the 2026 Tax Immunity Deal
Overview
The report traces how the unauthorized leak of Donald Trump’s tax returns led him, his family, and business to sue the IRS for $10 billion. This resulted in a controversial May 2026 settlement with the DOJ, creating a $1.776 billion fund and granting Trump sweeping tax immunity. The deal sparked intense public and political backlash, prompting retired judges and watchdogs to push for judicial review. On July 13, 2026, Judge Kathleen Williams nullified the settlement, citing bad faith and lack of real legal conflict. Her ruling halted the fund, triggered sanctions against Trump’s lawyers, and fueled bipartisan calls for legislative reforms to prevent future presidential self-dealing.