Miami – A coalition of former government officials and two public interest organizations have filed a friend-of-the-court brief in Trump v. IRS – a case in U.S. District Court in Florida where President Trump sought to pocket “at least” $10 billion from the U.S. Treasury, but instead “settled” for broad immunity for himself, his family, businesses, and associates from federal tax audits and any other federal investigations or liability for any wrongdoing before May 18, 2026.
The brief is the second submitted in the case by Democracy Forward and Gelber Schachter & Greenberg, P.A. on behalf of Common Cause, Project On Government Oversight, and four former government officials with combined decades of experience in federal tax law. The four former officials include John Koskinen, who served as the 48th Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service; Kathryn Keneally, who served as the Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division; Nina Olson, who served as the National Taxpayer Advocate from 2001 to 2019; and Gilbert Rothenberg, who served as the Chief of the U.S. Department of Justice, Tax Division, Appellate Section from 2004 to 2019.
The new brief addresses the legal flaws in an order issued on May 19, 2026 by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. The sweepingly broad Immunity Order grants President Trump, his family, their businesses, and an undefined universe of affiliates immunity from tax audits and tax liability, and also prevents the government from investigating any potentially unlawful non-tax conduct. The brief says in part, “This Immunity Order sends the regrettable and dangerous message that powerful people can wield their influence not only to avoid having their tax returns reviewed at all, but to place themselves above the laws that govern every other American.”
“The lawsuit the president and the Trump organization filed is not normal. It was an attempt to control both sides of litigation to advance the personal financial interests of President Trump and the Trump organization. After the president and the Trump organization walked away from the case to avoid a loss in court, the DOJ announced that the president and his family members would be immune from tax accountability and processes that apply to every American. But what DOJ did in setting special exceptions for the president and his family is improper and violates the law. Our clients are former government officials and organizations with decades of tax and good government expertise, who submitted this brief to aid the court’s consideration of whether President Trump and DOJ inappropriately used this lawsuit as a fig leaf ‘to provide the imprimatur of legality’ for the broad immunity that President Trump and his family, businesses, and affiliates have illegally achieved,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “We are honored to work with this coalition to share our clients’ expertise with the court.”
On January 29, 2026, President Trump sued the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service – both agencies he oversees – for $10 billion in taxpayers’ money. In the lawsuit, President Trump, his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, and their family business, the Trump Organization, sought damages after Trump’s personal tax documents were leaked to the press by a third-party contractor. Then, on May 18, 2026, the Trump family and government announced a “settlement agreement,” where the case would be dropped in exchange for an apology and the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) agreement that the Attorney General would issue an order establishing a $1.776 billion so-called “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” which has since been blocked. The next day, Acting AG Blanche issued an order that shields the president, his family, their businesses, and an undefined universe of affiliates from any federal tax audit or investigation or liability for any claims the federal government may have had as of May 18, 2026.
Trump v. IRS is not the first time that the president has sought direct personal payment from the federal government. On December 15, 2025, Democracy Forward filed a lawsuit after the U.S. Departments of Justice and the Treasury refused to release any records related to President Trump’s stunning effort to obtain a $230 million taxpayer-funded payout for investigations into his own misconduct — and the compromised process reportedly underway inside the DOJ to evaluate his demands.
Democracy Forward’s legal team involved in this brief includes Ayesha Khan, Jyoti Jasrasaria, Pooja Boisture, Tsuki Hoshijima, Cynthia Liao, and Lisa Newman. The legal team at Gelber Schachter & Greenberg, P.A. includes Gerald E. Greenberg and Daniel Walsh.
Read today’s friend-of-the-court brief in Trump v. IRS here.
– # # # –
Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.
