Lawrence O’Donnell Mocks Trump As ‘Stupidest Litigant In History’ Over Crumbling IRS Lawsuit
MS NOW host Lawrence O’Donnell on Monday skewered President Donald Trump as “the stupidest litigant in history to ever sue himself” after his attempt to secure $1.8 billion in taxpayer money fell flat — and a federal judge ruled Monday that the lawsuit was “improper.”
Trump sued the Internal Revenue Service in January for $10 billion after a contractor leaked his tax returns during his first term, but sought to dismiss the suit in exchange for a $1.8 billion fund for people claiming they were unfairly targeted by the Department of Justice.
U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen Williams ruled against Trump in a stinging rebuke Monday.
“And in her 56 pages of dismantling the Trump fake lawsuit piece by piece, Judge Williams patiently waited until page 43 — just exquisite work as a dramatist, page 43 — to use the smoking gun given to her by the stupidest litigant in history to ever sue himself,” he said.
The “Last Word” host went on to play a clip of Trump stating in October, “I’m sort of suing myself, I don’t know,” which Williams cited as evidence Monday in her ruling that his suit was filed for an “improper purpose” before recommending sanctions for Trump’s lawyers.
O’Donnell noted Trump had not only admitted to brazenly suing himself by seeking compensation from an entity that is effectively under his control, but that he did so after the statute of limitations had passed — and that Williams used Trump’s own allies to rebuke him.
He said, “Williams carefully grounded her findings in Supreme Court cases written by Donald Trump’s allies on the Supreme Court, including recent Supreme Court cases, affirming … every person working in the executive branch is under the direct control of the president.”
The “Anti-Weaponization Fund” Trump tried to secure would have financed claims for his supporters, including those who participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and other MAGA allies who claim they were victimized by the DOJ under former President Joe Biden.
“Judges have a responsibility to ensure the courts remain open to all to pursue claims in good faith,” Williams wrote Monday. “They have an equally important responsibility to ensure courts are not abused for improper purposes.”
The federal judge continued, directly citing Trump himself, “Certainly, a court should not be a forum for a party that cynically views a lawsuit as a vehicle to achieve a predetermined outcome: ‘I’m suing myself.’”
O’Donnell argued in his monologue Monday that Trump’s continued attempts to enrich and empower himself are brazenly transparent, stating, “The judge can see what everyone in America can see when the Trump Cabinet is gathered on TV to publicly worship him.”
He concluded, “Every member of the Trump Cabinet was chosen for their flawless cowardice.”
Watch the full “Last Word” segment on MS NOW’s YouTube account.
