Here we go again. In October, we had a controversy over Donald Trump’s administrative claims threatening a lawsuit for $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department over alleged violations of his rights in the 2016–2018 Russiagate probe and the 2023 FBI search of Mar-a-Lago. The merits of such a suit aside, Trump wasn’t president when the claims were filed — but because they would have to be settled by DOJ on Trump’s watch, it would be scandalous to pay the claims with taxpayer money to the president on the orders of the president or his direct subordinates. Trump himself mused openly about how shady this looked. Moreover, a non-monetary settlement would just involve Trump apologizing to himself. So the claims really should be abandoned.

Now Trump has filed a lawsuit in federal court in South Florida requesting $10 billion in damages from the IRS for the leaking of Trump’s tax records in 2017–2018. Trump’s rights were undoubtedly violated in this case, as I explained in 2023 when DOJ indicted Charles Littlejohn, the outside contractor who........

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