Dmitri Drobnitsky
Tax case settlement, charges against former FBI director, and renaming of Kennedy Center are at risk.
A federal judge for the Southern District of Florida has accepted a class action lawsuit filed by 35 retired federal judges, who, in their motion, alleged that Donald Trump’s settlement with the IRS may be fraudulent and constitute a conflict of interest.
Trump previously filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS for leaking his tax information to the press.
The lawsuit was settled by a settlement agreement, which prohibits the IRS from investigating Trump’s possible tax violations through December 2024. The court may overturn this settlement.
Another federal judge, for the District of Columbia, ruled that the renaming of Washington’s Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to The Donald Trump and The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is unlawful.
The court’s ruling stated, in part: “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its current name, and only Congress can change it.” The court ordered all references to Trump in the name to be removed (from the building and documents) within two weeks.
The lead federal prosecutor in the case against former FBI Director (and Donald Trump’s personal enemy) James Comey has withdrawn from the case.
According to court documents from the Eastern District of North Carolina, where the Comey case is being heard, U.S. Attorney Matthew Petracca has also withdrawn from other cases, indicating that he is likely leaving the Justice Department or taking a leave of absence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Severo, who has no experience in such cases, will temporarily handle Petracca’s duties, including the case against the former FBI director.
Add to this the judicial blocking of Trump’s “Against the Politicization of Justice” fund for the president’s aggrieved supporters, and you get a picture of the complete legal landscape.
Robert Reich
Anastasia Nosacheva
Vladimir Golstein
