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Judges curb Trump's IRS settlement fund, taxpayer-funded ads, and paid Truth Social access

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Summary

  • Nonpartisan groups including Democracy Defenders Fund and Campaign Legal Center have sued over Trump's IRS settlement fund, government-funded ads, and paid Truth Social access.
  • A Florida judge found Trump's $10bn IRS lawsuit collusive, sanctioned his lawyers, and the Justice Department dropped the $1.776bn fund it created.
  • A provision giving Trump, his family, and the Trump Organization immunity from IRS audits of past tax matters remains in effect.
  • A New York judge froze a $20m Customs and Border Protection ad contract and blocked three 'purely partisan' midterm ads paid with public funds.
  • The administration argues the ads suit is moot after the midterms; Trump will not reimburse earlier spending despite saying he would pay himself.
  • A pending suit seeks to bar Truth Social's 'Trump API', which charges up to $100,000 monthly for early access to Trump's posts.

Reactions

  • Judge Kathleen Williams found the IRS settlement 'premised on deception' and a 'fraud against the court', referring Trump's lawyer Alejandro Brito to the Florida bar.
  • A Justice Department spokesperson denied collusion, saying Trump and his family were victims of illegal leaks and received no money from the fund.
  • White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis called the ad ruling a 'lawless order', and Trump said tapping public funds for the ads was 'rather standard'.
  • Retired judge J Michael Luttig said courts are striking down Trump's schemes of 'blatant and shameless venality and corruption'.
  • San Francisco city attorney David Chiu called the Truth Social scheme 'corruption, plain and simple' that 'turns the public trust into private profit'.
  • A Trump Media spokesperson dismissed the Truth Social plaintiffs as 'leftwing activists masquerading as attorneys'.

Timeline newest first

  1. On 30 October, Judge Jennifer Rochon ruled three government-funded midterm ads 'purely partisan' and ordered them removed from Instagram and two other sites.
  2. In October, Rochon issued two restraining orders stopping Trump's use of public funds for campaign-style ads after suits by Common Cause and allied groups.
  3. In late September, the 11th circuit appeals court refused to lift Kathleen Williams's sanctions on Trump's lawyers over the IRS settlement.
  4. In mid-September, Democracy Defenders Fund, San Francisco city attorney David Chiu, and others sued Trump Media to block the paid 'Trump API' service.
  5. In July, Democracy Defenders Fund and 35 former judges including J Michael Luttig sued to kill the $1.8bn fund in Trump's IRS settlement.
  6. New filings showed Truth Social charging Wall Street firms up to $100,000 a month for advance access to Donald Trump's posts.
  7. The Justice Department asked Judge Jennifer Rochon to end the taxpayer-funded ads lawsuit as moot now that the midterm elections were over.
  8. The court froze the $20m Customs and Border Protection ad contract through 20 November 2026 and blocked three midterm ads through 13 November.
  9. The White House confirmed Trump would not reimburse the government for earlier ad spending despite announcing he would pay for the ads himself.
  10. Forbes reported Trump's Jupiter, Florida conservation easement saved him about $825m and could reduce a projected tax bill of more than $500m.
  11. On 13 July, Judge Kathleen Williams ruled Trump's settlement creating the $1.776bn 'anti-weaponization' fund was collusion and sanctioned his attorneys.
  12. Kathleen Williams found Trump sued the IRS for an 'improper purpose', referred lawyer Alejandro Brito to the Florida bar, and barred use of the settlement.
  13. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche withdrew the settlement fund on 2 June 2026 but kept the bar on IRS audits of Trump, his family, and businesses.
  14. In May 2026, the Justice Department settled Trump's $10bn IRS lawsuit out of court, creating a $1.776bn fund and ending audits of the Trump family.
  15. On 29 January 2026, Trump, his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization sued the IRS for $10bn over the leak of his tax returns.

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