A federal judge asks the Ministry of Justice and President Donald Trump’s private lawyers to explain whether his A $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service, an agency he oversees as president, is the type of dispute that federal courts can review.
U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen Williams questioned whether there was a genuine disagreement between the two sides in an order issued Friday, writing that a case can only be sustained if there is an opposition that meets a controversy requirement.
“Typically, adversity occurs in a situation where one party asserts its right and the other party resists,” Williams wrote. “Therefore, if there is no opposition, there is no case and no controversy. »
The judge ordered both sides to explain “whether there is any matter or controversy” by May 20. Williams has set a hearing on the matter for May 27 in Miami.
The order comes as both sides seek to resolve the dispute. Lawyers representing Trump and the IRS asked a federal court in a joint filing last week suspend work for 90 days, writing that the parties were in talks to find a solution.
Asset sued the IRS and Treasury Department in January, alleging the agency was responsible for the unauthorized disclosure of its tax records by a government contractor who shared them with the media. Trump argued that the IRS failed to take necessary steps to prevent the actions of the contractor, Charles Littlejohn, who was sentenced to five years in prison in 2024 after pleading guilty.
In his order, Williams acknowledged that Trump sued the IRS “in his personal capacity” rather than as president, but wrote that “he is the sitting President and his designated adversaries are entities whose decisions are subject to his direction.”
The IRS referred NBC News to the Justice Department when asked for comment on Williams’ order. The Justice Department and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche declined to comment on the status of the case when asked about it during the hearing. an unrelated press conference earlier this week. Blanche offered a response about how the Justice Department handles cases with “competing interests.”
“The Department of Justice deals with complex decisions involving these types of issues every day, not just this Department of Justice,” Blanche said.
“I mean, you have decisions that an attorney general or his staff has to make that are difficult and complicated, and we’re doing it. Attorneys general before me have done it, and we will be able to handle it appropriately and ethically,” Blanche continued.
Williams was appointed to the bench by former President Barack Obama in 2011.
Trump said he would donate any money earned from the lawsuit to charity, but that those funds would still come from taxpayer dollars.
The complaint against the IRS, filed by Trump alongside two of his adult sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization, claimed the leak caused the plaintiffs “reputational and financial harm” and “public embarrassment.” The lawsuit followed a New York Times report that Trump paid just $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017.
