Trump Drops IRS Lawsuit... Controversy Over Plan to Establish Compensation Fund for Associates

"Compensation Fund Established as Condition for Lawsuit Withdrawal"

Reuters Yonhap News

U.S. President Donald Trump has withdrawn his damages lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over the leak of his tax records and, in return, has agreed to establish a compensation fund for his close associates, ABC News reported on May 18 (local time).

According to ABC News, on this day President Trump's legal team filed documents with the federal court in Miami to withdraw the lawsuit against the IRS. Previously, President Trump had filed a damages lawsuit worth $10 billion (approximately 15 trillion won), claiming the IRS should be held responsible for leaking his tax records.

As a condition for withdrawing the lawsuit, the Trump administration announced the establishment of a compensation fund called the "Anti-Weaponization Fund," totaling $1.776 billion (approximately 2.6 trillion won). ABC News reported that this fund will provide compensation to President Trump’s close associates and supporters who claim to have been targeted for investigation during the previous Joe Biden administration. However, President Trump and his family are excluded from the recipients of compensation.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stated in a press release on the same day, "No government agency should ever be weaponized against any American," adding, "The intention of this measure is to correct past wrongs and prevent them from happening again in the future."

The U.S. Democratic Party immediately voiced opposition. About 100 Democratic members of the House of Representatives pointed out in a statement, "The President’s associates will be unjustly enriched at the expense of taxpayers' money."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.