U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams was skeptical. The case before her purported to be between the Internal Revenue Service and a group of private citizens harmed by a leak of their tax returns. The eye-popping $10 billion in relief they were seeking was wild on its own. But among the plaintiffs was President Donald Trump, who oversees both the IRS and the Justice Department lawyers who would be defending the government’s interests.
Or rather they should be defending the government’s interests. Instead, as Williams noted in her scathing 56-page order, Trump effectively controlled both sides of the lawsuit at all points, rendering it ineligible for relief from the court system.
The “settlement" was already the most likely outcome before a single brief had been filed from the defendants. In her total rejection of the case, Williams has rightly refused to allow America’s courts to be a fig leaf for Trump to enrich himself and his allies.
For starters, the timing was all wrong.
This is a preview of a column by Hayes Brown. Read the full column here.
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The Trump administration is pillaging the Latin American country, while a promise to transition to democracy has vanished. Read more.
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The expensive and lengthy deployment of National Guard troops in D.C. raises troubling questions about the line between the military and civilian policing. Read more.
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Congress has 60 days to authorize the latest military action against Iran or require it to end. Read more.
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The U.S. political system needs objective standards to ensure that its leaders remain physically and cognitively capable of their jobs. Read more.
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Jennifer Hackel of Chebeague Island, Maine, writes:
I want to expand on the key point made in Luke Russert’s July 6 opinion column, “Trump’s self-dealing dwarfs the GOP Biden accusations”:
Russert highlighted the hypocrisy of the current Republican majority that spent years investigating Hunter Biden’s supposed self-enrichment through connection to offices held by his father, President Joe Biden, the sum total of which was $35 million over a decade. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump and his sons made more than a billion dollars in dealings related to cryptocurrency over one year; Trump has done government business at Mar-a-Lago, where taxpayer dollars lead to enrichment of the Trump family. Where is the oversight?
You can read the rest of Jennifer Hackel’s letter here. To send your own letter to the editor, review our submission guidelines and use this form.
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Tomorrow, watch MS NOW for special coverage of Todd Blanche’s Senate confirmation hearing as President Trump’s nominee for Attorney General. Tune in tomorrow at 9am ET on MS NOW.
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This week on “The Best People,” Nicolle Wallace is joined by former CNN White House correspondent and anchor Jim Acosta to discuss his departure from the network and his experience covering President Trump across his two terms. Subscribe to MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts for early access, ad-free listening, and bonus content.
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