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Swede

(40,219 posts)
Fri May 29, 2026, 01:12 PM Friday

3 dozen retired federal judges calling into question whether Trump&DOJ&IRS colluded to deceive the court.

MacFarlane: A whopper of a court filing just now from about three dozen retired former federal judges asking a court to stop this slush fund from proceeding and calling into question whether Trump and his own Department of Justice and IRS colluded to deceive the court

Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) 2026-05-27T22:29:47.395Z
14 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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3 dozen retired federal judges calling into question whether Trump&DOJ&IRS colluded to deceive the court. (Original Post) Swede Friday OP
"calling into question" ..... Judges are not the sharpest tacks are they? Irish_Dem Friday #1
I'd Rather Not Look This Gift Horse Etc. ColoringFool Friday #8
We have to take whatever fools we are handed. Irish_Dem Friday #10
It's legalese. SergeStorms Friday #12
Former Judges Urge Inquiry Into Deal Trump Struck With I.R.S. (New York Times Gift Article) LetMyPeopleVote Friday #2
Your post is way better than mine, you should post it as its own thread. Swede Friday #3
I did LetMyPeopleVote Friday #5
Oh I missed it. Swede Friday #6
Important to remember Boo1 Friday #4
He Cannot Be Tried For Crimes Committed As President..... ColoringFool Friday #9
Collusion on steroids malaise Friday #7
Absolutely. SergeStorms Friday #14
Given the track record of these criminals there should be no doubt whatsoever.... spanone Friday #11
This could be the time the pendulum starts to swing back the other way. I hope so. Martin68 Friday #13

Irish_Dem

(82,714 posts)
1. "calling into question" ..... Judges are not the sharpest tacks are they?
Fri May 29, 2026, 01:19 PM
Friday

They are not sure whether Trump is a lying, cheating criminal psychopath.

They need to find another line of work.

SergeStorms

(20,897 posts)
12. It's legalese.
Fri May 29, 2026, 04:11 PM
Friday

Judges can't come out and say "Trump is a lying, scheming criminal."

Otherwise we'd have an "Idiocracy" type courtroom. 😉

LetMyPeopleVote

(182,783 posts)
2. Former Judges Urge Inquiry Into Deal Trump Struck With I.R.S. (New York Times Gift Article)
Fri May 29, 2026, 01:28 PM
Friday

The motion was particularly significant because it asked the judge overseeing the initial suit against the I.R.S. to examine the terms of the deal.



https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/27/us/politics/judges-trump-deal-irs.html?unlocked_article_code=1.llA.A59s.cSlveLkHbttZ&smid=nytcore-ios-share

A bipartisan group of 35 former federal judges on Wednesday asked the judge who oversaw President Trump’s remarkable lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service to reopen the case and conduct an inquiry into whether the hasty deal to resolve it could be challenged as an act of fraud.

The move by the former judges was one of an increasing number of legal efforts to attack the validity of the two extraordinary benefits that emerged from the agreement last week: a $1.8 billion fund that could compensate allies of Mr. Trump who claim they suffered “weaponization” at the hands of the federal government and the conferral of lucrative tax benefits on the president, his family and his businesses.

The motion by the former judges, filed in Federal District Court in Miami, was a direct appeal to Judge Kathleen M. Williams, who closed the I.R.S. case last week after Mr. Trump voluntarily dismissed his suit. It asked her to bring the matter back to life under a rule that permits her to set aside a judgment she had made and examine the terms of the deal that appeared to have been reached in a plan to avoid that sort of scrutiny......

At the heart of the former judges’ argument was an assertion that Mr. Trump improperly used his lawsuit against the I.R.S. as a way to obtain “unlawful private benefits” for himself and his family and to create a fund that would dole out taxpayer money “without constitutional or congressional authority.” Moreover, the former judges claimed that the president tried to shield the deal from “judicial scrutiny” by “short-circuiting” Judge Williams’ ability to examine its terms.....

Acknowledging that her hands were tied, Judge Williams quickly closed the case, but noted in her order that there had never been a “settlement of record.” Within hours, however, the terms of a deal surfaced in public in an agreement that was signed by a senior Justice Department official and detailed how the fund would work. The next day, the department released an addendum to the agreement giving the Trump family its own extraordinary boon: immunity from all past I.R.S. investigations.

In their court papers, the former judges laid out that sequence of events, telling Judge Williams that it showed the fraudulent nature of the agreement. The judges said she did not have to rule immediately that settlement was invalid, suggesting that she could first “commence an inquiry into the whether the court was deceived.”

Boo1

(507 posts)
4. Important to remember
Fri May 29, 2026, 01:44 PM
Friday

That presidential pardons do not extend to civil cases. After leaving office Rrump could be investigated and sued for collusion, and be forced to repay any money spent from any fund coming from this 'settlement'.

Failure to pay it would result in new federal charges that could be filed in response.

ColoringFool

(1,196 posts)
9. He Cannot Be Tried For Crimes Committed As President.....
Fri May 29, 2026, 03:34 PM
Friday

And sued? 😄😄 Good luck with that option!

SergeStorms

(20,897 posts)
14. Absolutely.
Fri May 29, 2026, 04:17 PM
Friday

They most likely had a conference call with each department represented and "settled" the suit by handing Agent Orange $1.776 billion (what a patriotic number, right )?

Agent Orange is a patriot's patriot.

spanone

(142,110 posts)
11. Given the track record of these criminals there should be no doubt whatsoever....
Fri May 29, 2026, 03:42 PM
Friday

IN ANYBODY'S MIND!

Martin68

(28,111 posts)
13. This could be the time the pendulum starts to swing back the other way. I hope so.
Fri May 29, 2026, 04:13 PM
Friday

Of course the cultists will support the degenerate no matter what he does.

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