President Trump has, since he was a candidate, had his issues with the IRS, including an ongoing lawsuit against the Treasury Department agency over the leaking of his personal tax records. Now, in an interesting twist, a federal judge has ordered President Trump and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to justify why the president's $10 million lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service should continue, since the president oversees it.
A federal judge is raising concerns about whether Donald Trump's attempt to sue the IRS for $10 billion can proceed, signaling she could throw out the case because the president oversees the government entities he is suing.
Judge Kathleen Williams raised the issue in an order on Friday denying a request to delay the case amid possible settlement talks.
She noted that Trump and the defendants -- the Treasury Department and IRS -- may not be "sufficiently adverse" to one another for the case to proceed.
That seems a reasonable point. President Trump oversees the IRS, meaning that he's suing an agency that he's in charge of.
Judge Williams isn't throwing the case out, just requiring justification for allowing it to proceed.
"Moreover, although President Trump avers that he is bringing this lawsuit in his personal capacity, he is the sitting president and his named adversaries are entities whose decisions are subject to his direction. Indeed, President Trump's own remarks about this matter acknowledge the unique dynamic of this litigation," she wrote.
Williams ordered both Trump's lawyers and the Department of Justice to submit briefs about why the case should proceed and set a hearing for next month. For the case to proceed, Trump's lawyers and the DOJ need to establish that the lawsuit is "a dispute between parties who face each other in an adversary proceeding."
We first reported on this lawsuit in January of this year:
Read More: Trump Family, Organization Files New $10 Billion Lawsuit Against IRS
The case has to do with the leaking of tax records, including the president's tax records, by parties in the IRS.
The Trumps, in the suit, argued that the IRS and Treasury Department should have had "appropriate technical, employee screening, security, and monitoring" to prevent the theft of tax information.
A group of former government officials last month filed an amicus brief with the court to raise concerns about the ethics of the president suing his own government for billions.
That's an interesting legal twist. The president is, in a sense, represented on both sides of the case, as a plaintiff against the IRS, and as the guy who is in charge of the IRS. Judge Williams notes that President Trump is suing the IRS in his personal capacity, as it was his personal tax returns (among other things) that were leaked. In this action, it looks like the judge is making sure all these issues are resolved before proceeding with the case.
Read More: IRS Consultant Pleads Guilty to Leaking Tax Return Info, Including Donald Trump's
The judge making the ruling is an Obama appointee, Judge Kathleen Williams, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Judge Williams has been in this role since 2011.
This remains a developing story. Stay tuned.
Editor's Note: President Trump is leading America into the "Golden Age" as Democrats try desperately to stop it.
Help us continue to report on President Trump's successes. Join RedState VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member