The economics of Trump lawfare


The Trump Administration is weaponizing tax-exempt status to punish its political enemies and enforce viewpoint discrimination. It’s illegal, but can it work?

“It seems unlikely that these moves would hold up in court. And the organizations are highly likely to sue. But this gets at a critical dimension of these stories. Getting into what might be a multi-year legal case with the federal government which can pour any amount of money into litigation it wants is at least disruptive, expensive and burdensome to a nonprofit. It can easily be fatal. A longtime TPM Reader noted today that the Big Law agreements play a big role here too. Who will represent these groups? As my correspondent reminded me, for every agreementing firm there are countless more firms declining pro bono opportunities and even turning down paid work. 

 

“So will there be lawsuits? Effective ones? I’m fairly sure the answer is yes. But it definitely plays into the equation. 

 

“This is another example of the baseline pattern. The White House can break any law it wants. It will probably get sued. It may win or lose. But it has infinite legal resources. So why not? If the White House can destroy the National Resources Defense Council by revoking its nonprofit status, it’s a win. And if it fails but ties them up in court for three years and costs them a million dollars, it’s still a win. It’s all wins. Just different kinds. Again, what’s the downside?

 

“DOGE just broke the law by abolishing the CFPB, a statutory creation of Congress. They’re routinely breaking federal laws which protect the privacy of taxpayers’ information. In those cases, maybe they win and maybe they lose. Just kidding. They win either way.”

 

“There are no consequences, no accountability for anything.”

They don’t have to win on the merits. They’ll just milk our tax dollars to bankrupt their opponents.

 

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/for-doge-and-all-criminal-actors-there-must-be-consequences-and-accountability

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