Judge Refers Todd Blanche to NY Bar, Voids Trump’s $1.8 Billion IRS Deal
Updated
Updated · Forbes · Jul 15
Judge Refers Todd Blanche to NY Bar, Voids Trump’s $1.8 Billion IRS Deal
3 articles · Updated · Forbes · Jul 15
Summary
Kathleen Williams ordered her ruling sent to the New York State Bar and recommended discipline for Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche over his role in Trump’s IRS settlement.
Williams said Blanche’s May 19 testimony that there was “no judge” to review the agreement was at best misleading and at worst disingenuous, raising ethics concerns tied to his prior work as Trump’s personal lawyer.
The ruling also wiped out the settlement itself, which had ended Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS and created a $1.8 billion fund for people claiming Biden-era targeting, including Jan. 6 rioters.
Blanche now faces Senate Judiciary Committee scrutiny as he seeks confirmation as attorney general, with lawmakers also expected to press him on the anti-weaponization fund and the Epstein files.
The bar referral adds to existing pressure: Blanche already faces an ethics complaint in New York backed by more than 101 former federal and state judges.