Trump appeals ruling that found his $10 billion IRS suit aimed to ‘manipulate’ legal proceedings

The case is at the center of negotiations between two Republican senators and the Justice Department over Todd Blanche’s nomination to serve as attorney general.

President Donald Trump on Friday took the first step in appealing a federal judge’s ruling that questioned the legality of a lawsuit filed by the president, two of his sons and the Trump Organization against the IRS.

The Trumps filed notice that they would appeal the July 13 ruling by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams that said the $10 billion suit was for an “improper purpose.” The case led to the Justice Department creating a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund as part of a settlement that included an agreement that the government would not investigate or seek any sort of payment from the president, his family members and companies on pending tax claims.

The IRS did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the forthcoming appeal.

A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team said Friday that the IRS “wrongly allowed a rogue, politically-motivated employee to leak private and confidential information about President Trump, his family, and the Trump Organization” to news outlets that was later “illegally released to millions of people.”

A former IRS contractor pleaded guilty in 2023 to stealing Trump’s tax records and thousands of others in 2019 and 2020 before leaking them. He is serving a five-year prison term.