President Donald Trump on Monday moved to dismiss his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his confidential tax returns, as the Justice Department reportedly weighs the creation of a $1.7 billion compensation fund for alleged victims of government “weaponization.”The voluntary dismissal, filed in federal court in Miami by Trump attorney Alejandro Brito, offered little explanation for why the president chose to abandon the high-profile case just days before a scheduled hearing on whether the lawsuit should be thrown out altogether.“The dismissal requires neither leave of court nor the consent of any party,” Brito wrote in the filing to U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams, writing that no judicial input was needed to dismiss the case.
The move comes as multiple reports in recent days have indicated that the administration is seeking to establish a roughly $1.7 billion federal fund to compensate individuals who say the federal government politically targeted them during the Biden administration. Trump himself would reportedly not receive money under the arrangement, according to ABC News, which first reported on the fund plans.
Those who may be eligible beneficiaries from the fund include some of the roughly 1,500 people prosecuted in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, and others who may have had their livelihoods upended over politically charged prosecutions during former President Joe Biden’s term.
