The Hill, Sarah Davis, "Top Treasury lawyer resigns as Trump, IRS settlement announced" May 19, 2026 — reports Morris...
Cited in: Brian P. Morrissey Jr.
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Administration Top Treasury lawyer resigns as Trump, IRS settlement announced by Sarah Davis - 05/19/26 10:25 AM ET The Treasury Department’s chief legal officer resigned Monday following the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) launch of a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” that could provide payouts for rioters convicted in connection to Jan. 6, 2021, and others who claim they were wrongfully targeted under the Biden administration. President Trump nominated Brian Morrissey to be the department’s general counsel last year, and he has served in the role for the past eight months. The attorney was previously the principal deputy general counsel for the Treasury Department and was a clerk for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. A Treasury spokesperson confirmed Morrissey’s departure in a statement to The Hill on Tuesday. “As General Counsel, Brian Morrissey has served the United States Treasury with both honor and integrity. We wish him all the best in his next endeavors,” the spokesperson said. In a resignation letter reported by The New York Times, Morrissey expressed his gratitude for Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Morrissey’s reported departure follows the DOJ’s decision Monday to open a $1.776 billion fund to settle Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. The fund was created to issue “formal apologies” to people who pursue settlements alleging that they were wronged by the government. The Treasury Department will oversee the payout of these funds into an account managed by a group of people appointed by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “The machinery of government should never be weaponized against any American, and it is this Department’s intention to make right the wrongs that were previously done while ensuring this never happens again,” Blanche said in a statement announcing the fund. “As part of this settlement, we are setting up a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress,” he continued. The DOJ has not stated who is eligible for these payouts, but several rioters present at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, have pending lawsuits against the government. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, called the settlement “pure fraud and highway robbery” in a statement. “No one can be both plaintiff and defendant in the same case. And no president can concoct a fake case for $10 billion in damages against the government so he can be plaintiff and defendant and then ‘settle’ his bogus case against himself as a judge,” Raskin said. “This is simply not a genuine case or controversy as required by the Constitution. But Trump’s DOJ is not arguing any of this because it is in on the scam.”
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