Legal AF by MeidasTouch - Top Trump WH Lawyer Suddenly Resigns in Disgust

Episode Date: May 20, 2026

In breaking news, a top Treasury Official handpicked by Trump to be its General Counsel, has resigned just moments after Trump’s captured DOJ announced a “settlement” for the creation of an almost $1.8 billion fund Trump controls, with his captured IRS and Treasury Department, as Judge Williams gives a parting shot to the DOJ and Trump and provides a road map for the soon to be filed lawsuit to stop the fund. Popok provides his updates in the case. Smalls: For a limited time only, get 60% OFF plus FREE SHIPPING and FREE TREATS for LIFE at https://Smalls.com/legalaf Subscribe:  @LegalAFMTN  Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast Cult Conversations: The Influence Continuum with Dr. Steve Hassan: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show The Ken Harbaugh Show: https://meidasnews.com/tag/the-ken-harbaugh-show Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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We got some breaking news about Donald Trump's phony $1.8 billion anti-weaponization fund, which he's created using a bad faith lawsuit that a federal judge challenged as being in bad faith and not a legitimate lawsuit to then use his captured Department of Justice that he controls, his captured Treasury Department that he controls, his captured Internal Revenue Service that he controls, his captured private lawyers that he controls to enter into a phony settlement to create a fund under his control

away from congressional oversight. And now we've got, in breaking news, a new hero. We got a resignation of the top treasury official, Brian Morrissey, he's the general counsel or was of the Treasury Department, handpicked by Donald Trump, had served in the first Trump, administration of the Department of Justice, have been a partner in a law firm that I worked for

called Sidley Austin out of Chicago, who had clerked for Clarence Thomas, and he apparently has some gravitas, some kachones, because he's quit moments after the settlement was announced. In response to it, in protest to it, the timing suggests yes. I'm Michael Popak. You've got great timing. You're on the Midas Dutch Network and leave. A.F. Let's get down and update you about a pot shot taken by Judge Williams as she departs the case. I don't think it went far enough, but certainly was her attempt to lay the groundwork for a future lawsuit. I want to talk about the memo given by Todd Blanche to the Treasury Department to set up the fund and what I think is really strange about it. And the part where I think Judge Williams

is not going to be happy is that they continue to use. Here's the first page of the settlement agreement, which they did not have to add the lawsuit. They could have just said it's a settlement, but they had a lawsuit. So they put the style or the caption of the case. I think this is again, them using the federal court and the imprimatur of the federal process that she should do something about. I'll talk about that in a moment. Let's start from the, at the resignation. Brian Morrissey, not my politics, but certainly a fine lawyer, worked in the Department of Justice in the first Trump administration. Clerks for Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court worked at Sidley in Austin, was handpicked by Donald Trump to be the head of the Treasury Department's legal department,

right? One that would side off on this. And we know from other reports, that there was a lot of hand-wringing and a lot of head in hands about Donald Trump corrupting his DOJ IRS and Treasury Department to settle with him. That was the problem that Judge Williams in Miami federal court had. Where are the adversary parties here? You control everything? It's Trump v. Trump? Well, then you can't have a legitimate lawsuit. And if there's not a legitimate lawsuit, get out of my courtroom.

She was about to toss the case. she ordered the Trump side to issue and submit briefs about how she even had jurisdiction, how this was a legitimate federal case. Because if this isn't an imminent real lawsuit, if it's just a piece of paper, then what are you settling? Then under the statutes that allow the Department of Justice to settle and compromise, they're inapplicable. That was her argument. But wouldn't you know it just before they had to file the brief with her,

and she had already gotten guidance from her. from three outside lawyers that she asked for, they settle the case and file a notice of voluntary dismissal with prejudice in her courtroom. They don't attach the settlement agreement. They just say, we're out, Judge. You know, there's been no answer filed, and we don't need your permission, and we're going to dismiss, which is true under Rule 41 with one caveat. There were a lot of protests internally against the settlement because it didn't pass the straight face test,

nor the legal test, including being, I'm sure, they consider that it violates the domestic or presidential emoluments clause. An emolument in the Constitution, based on the time, is anything of value, right? A gift, a bonus, a commission, anything above the president's salary that he gets economic or non-economic from a state or from the United States. In this case, the United States violates the emolumulums. clause. That's what the lawsuit that's coming out of this fact pattern is going to allege. So Brian Morrissey's like, I'm out. I don't want to be associated with that settlement fund for the anti-victim weaponization fund. And then I read the settlement agreement, which will post on legal AF substack for you to read. And it talks about in the recitals, again, not telling the truth about

the lawsuit that was filed in front of Judge Williams. It says there was a civil lawsuit that was filed on January 29, 26, that President Trump also submitted. Oh, listen to this. Made up facts nobody ever heard about. Recital section 2, paragraph A, counsel for plaintiffs, that's Trump's per private counsel, have indicated that, but for this settlement, they would intend to amend their complaint, including in order to likely add a putative class claim. How are you going to add a putative class claim to a suit that the judge is about to dismiss? Right? And they don't mention that the judge, by her orders, was about to dismiss this lawsuit. There's nothing to amend when your suit is filed in bad faith. Judge Williams and the federal court getting used again as a pawn.

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That's 60% off your first order plus free shipping and free treats for life. When you head to smalls.com slash legal AF. And then it talks about that the case has been closed. But they skipped the part about Judge Williams questioning the legitimacy of the case. And then, of course, we have the order. Let me read to you from, let's switch gears and go to Judge Williams, also in the last 24 hours. In her order closing the case, here's the pot shot she takes. Now, I agree that she had no choice but to dismiss the case and close the case under Rule 41 of the federal rules of civil procedure.

Just because of the tactics used by Trump gives him the right to dismiss. she still has inherent authority over the administration of justice in her courtroom. And if I were her, especially now having seen the settlement agreement, I would do an order to show cause. I would have done it before she issued her order. Maybe she amends her order and says, I've now seen the settlement agreement. I see you're using my case.

I see you reference my case and the attempt to amend my case when you knew or should have known that I'm about to dismiss the case. I want all the lawyers in here. I want fact-finding and go into a fact-finding order to show cause about whether sanctions should be issued. But here's her parting shot, which I think will help the plaintiffs against this settlement in a future federal lawsuit. I'm sure that will be filed this week. Because the notice does not reference any settlement or include a stipulation of settlement, says Judge Williams on the bottom of page two, there is no settlement of record.

additionally defendants of federal agencies represented by the Department of Justice, which has an independent obligation to uphold the public strong interest in knowing about the conduct of its government and expenditures of its resources and the fair administration of justice, neither submitted any settlement documents nor filed any documents ensuring, right, ensuring that a settlement was appropriate, whether it was an outstanding question as to whether an actual case or controversy existed. That's the ticket. That's the little bit of a stab there by the judge.

That will be picked up, I'm sure, along with the outline of the framework of the lawsuit that was created by 93 members of Congress who yesterday filed an amicus brief request and their brief arguing violation of the emoluments clause, violation of all the statutes related to DOJ's ability to settle cases, that Judge Williams' comment ends up baked into a future lawsuit, I assure you. But I really wanted to focus on, you know, not so much the direction. And we have, of course, the memo that's now come out from Todd Blanche,

you know, and the IRS chief financial officer and lawyers for Donald Trump, including one that operates out of a mailbox USA in Boccaratone, Florida. Right. But I wanted to focus on Brian Morrissey. Because there needs to be more Brian Morrissey's and they got to do something before settlements come out, like become whistleblowers. So that's why the courage here is not as great as somebody like Emil, as somebody like Eris Ruvani, who left the Department of Justice after they abused and continued to abuse, Kilmer Obrigo Garcia. And he came out with a 30-page whistleblower statement. You know, we need that before, not after. But I appreciate Brian Morrissey's pangs of guilt,

twinges of guilt that led him to depart the Trump administration, which is lawless and rogue. I'll continue to follow it here for Midas Touch and LegalAF. Come over to LegalAF YouTube channel, will you? Hit the subscribe button. You might think you're subscribed, but you're not. Hit that button. Help us continue to grow.

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