{"id":229,"date":"2026-05-22T08:36:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T08:36:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=229"},"modified":"2026-05-22T08:36:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T08:36:24","slug":"legal-expert-exposes-the-shameful-spin-behind-trumps-irs-leak-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=229","title":{"rendered":"Legal expert exposes the ‘shameful spin’ behind Trump\u2019s IRS leak claims"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Few actions on the part of the Trump administration have drawn as much bipartisan scorn as the DOJ-IRS settlement that aims to create a $1.8 billion \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund, which critics say amounts to a \u201cslush fund\u201d for January 6 rioters. Now a legal expert has laid bare the \u201cshameful spin\u201d underlying the supposed justification of the fund. <\/p>\n

Read more Intel community debunks Trump commander\u2019s sworn testimony on Iran<\/a><\/p>\n

At the core of the administration\u2019s case is the assertion that the IRS leaked President Donald Trump\u2019s tax returns during his first term, allegedly with the intention of smearing his reputation. As Southern District of New York US Attorney Jay Claton framed it on Thursday, the IRS \u201cintentionally\u201d released Trump\u2019s returns to \u201cembarrass\u201d him while he was a \u201cprivate citizen\u201d\u2014 “they leaked his tax returns, they tried to destroy him.\u201d<\/p>\n

But as MSNOW legal analyst and former Southern District of New York Division Deputy Chief Kristy Greenberg pointed out, absolutely none of that was true.<\/p>\n

\u2018’They’ didn\u2019t leak Trump\u2019s tax returns,\u201d Greenberg posted to X. \u201cAn IRS contractor did \u2014 along with thousands of other tax returns \u2014 during Trump\u2019s first term. [Former President Joe] Biden\u2019s DOJ prosecuted the contractor, who got the max: 5 years in prison. This is shameful spin from SDNY U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Greenberg suggested, Clayton and many other Trump allies are either misrepresenting the facts or outright lying. Trump wasn\u2019t a \u201cprivate citizen\u201d when the leak occurred, but the president of the country. The IRS had nothing to do with the leak, and therefore the assertion that the agency was attempting to \u201cembarrass\u201d Trump is nonsensical. Trump wasn\u2019t \u201cintentionally\u201d targeted by the actual leaker even, who released thousands of tax returns at the same time. What\u2019s more, the leaker was already punished by the Biden administration. Justice has been served for what crime was committed.<\/p>\n

Read more Blanche\u2019s \u2018incredibly hostile\u2019 meeting with Senate Republicans \u2018did not go well\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Greenberg isn\u2019t alone in recognizing the contradictions and incoherence of the Trump administration\u2019s case. Speaking to PBS, former IRS commissioner John Koskinen explained, \u201cNormally, what you would do in the Justice Department and prior cases had maintained was the suit should be against, if you have a claim, for damages against\u2026 the contractor who stole the information. The Justice Department, up until this settlement, had taken the position that the IRS was not an appropriate defendant.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, Koskinen noted another unusual aspect of the story: language in the settlement that bars the IRS from investigating the past and future taxes of Trump, his family, or organization \u201cforever.\u201d According to Koskinen, he has \u201cnever heard\u201d of such a settlement deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou do have to wonder what’s in those returns that makes it so important for them not to be audited,\u201d he noted. <\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Complete disaster\u2019 as Senate Republicans fear party \u2018melting down before our eyes\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Few actions on the part of the Trump administration have drawn as much bipartisan scorn as the DOJ-IRS settlement that aims to create a $1.8 billion \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund, which critics say amounts to a \u201cslush fund\u201d for January 6 rioters. Now a legal expert has laid bare the \u201cshameful spin\u201d unde…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":228,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nLegal expert exposes the 'shameful spin' behind Trump\u2019s IRS leak claims - Next Address America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=229\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Legal expert exposes the 'shameful spin' behind Trump\u2019s IRS leak claims - Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Few actions on the part of the Trump administration have drawn as much bipartisan scorn as the DOJ-IRS settlement that aims to create a $1.8 billion \u201canti-weaponization\u201d fund, which critics say amounts to a \u201cslush fund\u201d for January 6 rioters. 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