Hillary Clinton could not get to her keyboard fast enough. Within hours of reports that the Justice Department is considering settling President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, Clinton was on X accusing Trump of “shaking down taxpayers” and declaring that the “corruption meter is flashing red.” What Clinton did not bother to mention, and what the left keeps hoping you will forget, is why this lawsuit exists in the first place: a former IRS contractor named Charles Littlejohn stole thousands of confidential tax returns, smuggled them out of government systems on personal devices including an iPod, and handed them to the media. He pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to five years in federal prison. The Department of Justice under Merrick Garland called it a betrayal of public trust. That is the story. Everything else is noise. The New York Times broke the settlement report on May 13: Breaking News: The Justice Department is said to be considering settling a lawsuit President Trump filed against the IRS over the release of his tax returns. https://t.co/PLOTDQm5G6 — The New York Times (@nytimes) May 13, 2026 CNN followed with additional details, reporting that DOJ officials are discussing whether to settle the lawsuit in the coming days, according to two sources familiar with the talks. The report said one option under internal discussion involves whether the IRS would drop audits of President Trump, members of his family, and family businesses. However, one person familiar with the discussions stressed to CNN that this is only one of many options being considered and that no firm decisions have been made. CNN also reported it remains unclear whether a monetary settlement is part of any proposal. A spokesman for Trump’s legal team told CNN that the IRS failed to stop a rogue, politically motivated employee from leaking confidential Trump-family and Trump Organization information to the New York Times, ProPublica, and other left-wing outlets. The IRS referred comment to the DOJ, which declined to comment. Justice Department officials are discussing whether to resolve President Trump’s IRS leak lawsuit in the coming days, according to two people described as familiar with the conversations. The case seeks at least $10 billion and was filed personally by Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization against the IRS and Treasury Department in federal court in Florida. The complaint centers on confidential tax information that was obtained by former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn and later used by major news outlets. One settlement concept under internal review involves whether the IRS would drop audits of Trump, members of his family, and family businesses. A person familiar with the discussions cautioned that this is only one option among several and that no firm decision has been made. The report also left open whether a monetary payment is even part of the current settlement discussions. Trump’s legal team framed the case as a government failure to protect private taxpayer information after a politically motivated contractor leaked sensitive records to the press, while the IRS referred questions to DOJ and DOJ declined to comment. So to be clear: no settlement has been reached. No money has changed hands. No audits have been formally dropped. These are reported discussions. But the mere possibility of Trump receiving any form of relief from the agency that failed to protect his family’s private information has the left in a full-blown panic. Clinton’s reaction was predictable: The president is negotiating against his own administration to shake down taxpayers for $10 billion. The corruption meter is flashing red and sounding the alarm.https://t.co/cHK0Fqqs62 pic.twitter.com/TJg0kwD4vK — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) May 13, 2026 “Shake down taxpayers.” That is rich coming from Clinton, who has never had a word to say about the government contractor who raided IRS databases and selectively weaponized private financial records against a sitting president and his family. The shakedown, if we are going to use that word, happened when Littlejohn used his government access to rifle through confidential returns and funnel them to reporters. Let’s go back to the record the left keeps trying to blur. President Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization filed this lawsuit against the IRS and Treasury Department in January 2026, seeking at least $10 billion. The suit alleges the government failed in its duty to protect confidential tax information that was stolen and leaked by Littlejohn. The Justice Department announced on January 29, 2024 that Littlejohn was sentenced to five years in prison for disclosing thousands of tax returns without authorization. According to court documents summarized by DOJ, Littlejohn worked as an IRS contractor, accessed tax return information tied to a high-ranking government official and related individuals and entities, and used broad search parameters on an IRS database to conceal the true purpose of his queries. He then uploaded the records to a private website to evade IRS large-download and upload protocols, saved them to personal storage devices, and provided the material to a news organization between August and October 2019. That news organization published a series of articles in September 2020 using information obtained from Littlejohn. He separately stole tax information for thousands of additional wealthy individuals and provided that data to another news outlet. Former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn received a five-year prison sentence for disclosing thousands of tax returns without authorization. The Justice Department described the conduct as an abuse of an IRS consultant role and a violation of the duty to protect sensitive taxpayer information. Court documents summarized by DOJ said Littlejohn accessed returns tied to a high-ranking government official and related individuals or entities, then used broad search parameters in an IRS database to hide the true purpose of his searches. Littlejohn then moved the records through a private website in order to evade IRS protocols that would have detected large downloads or uploads. The records were saved on personal storage devices, including an iPod, before being provided to a news organization between August and October 2019. That outlet later published a series of stories in September 2020 based on information obtained from Littlejohn. He also stole tax information for thousands of wealthy people and gave that separate batch of records to another news outlet. Earlier, in October 2023, the Justice Department had announced Littlejohn’s guilty plea. Then-Attorney General Merrick Garland said Littlejohn “used his contractor role to access private tax information, steal it, disclose it publicly, break federal law, and betray public trust.” Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri described the unauthorized theft and disclosure of tax information by government employees or contractors as “a serious breach of public trust.” The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said Americans have every right to expect integrity from people who have access to sensitive taxpayer information. When Littlejohn pleaded guilty in October 2023, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the contractor had used his IRS role to access private tax information, steal it, disclose it publicly, break federal law, and betray public trust. Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri called the theft and disclosure of tax information by a government employee or contractor a serious breach of public trust. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration likewise emphasized that Americans have every right to expect integrity from those entrusted with sensitive taxpayer records. The plea announcement laid out the same mechanics later cited at sentencing: Littlejohn obtained access through his IRS contractor work, used broad searches to hide his target, gathered records tied to a high-ranking government official and related entities, and took additional tax information belonging to thousands of wealthy individuals. TIGTA said it would pursue people who abuse IRS systems, steal taxpayer information, or disclose protected information illegally. Those are not Republican talking points. Those are the words of Biden administration officials describing what happened to Donald Trump’s private financial records while they were in the custody of the IRS. Littlejohn’s case is docketed as 1:23-cr-343 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before Judge Ana C. Reyes. He was charged on September 29, 2023, sentenced on January 29, 2024, and notified the court in February 2024 that he intended to appeal. There is a very simple question at the center of this story that Clinton and the rest of the outrage chorus refuse to engage with: if a government contractor steals your private tax records, deliberately evades security protocols, smuggles the data out on personal devices, and hands it to reporters who publish it for the world to see, do you have a right to sue the agency that let it happen? For any other American, the answer would be obvious. But because the victim is Donald Trump, the left wants you to believe that pursuing a legal remedy is somehow corrupt. Whatever the DOJ ultimately decides about a settlement, the underlying facts are not in dispute. A man broke into IRS systems, stole Trump’s financial records, and got caught. He pleaded guilty. He went to prison. The Biden DOJ prosecuted him and called it what it was. Now the people whose tax records were violated are asking for accountability, and the left’s only response is to change the subject.

A 22-year-old Georgian national who called himself Commander Butcher was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison this week after federal prosecutors said he led an international violent extremist group, distributed instructions for making bombs and ricin, and planned a mass casualty attack targeting Jewish communities in Brooklyn. The Department of Justice announced the sentencing on May 13. Michail Chkhikvishvili, who also went by Mishka and Michael, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Carol Bagley Amon in the Eastern District of New York. Chkhikvishvili had pleaded guilty in November to soliciting hate crimes and distributing information about manufacturing explosives and the deadly poison ricin. Georgian National Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Soliciting Hate Crimes and Planning Mass Casualty Attack in New York City

A group of California-based aluminum companies will pay $549.5 million to settle federal allegations that they ran a scheme to dodge antidumping and countervailing duties on aluminum extrusions imported from China. The Justice Department announced the settlement on May 13, calling it a direct product of President Donald Trump’s America First Trade Policy and a warning to anyone who thinks they can cheat on tariffs. The alleged scheme was not subtle. According to the DOJ, Perfectus Aluminum Inc., Perfectus Aluminum Acquisitions LLC, and four affiliated warehousing companies imported more than 2.2 million aluminum extrusions from China between 2011 and 2014, spot-welding them together and presenting them to U.S. Customs and Border Protection as finished pallets. The companies then allegedly told CBP the products were finished merchandise not subject to duties. There was just one problem. No customers for the pallets existed, and not a single pallet was ever sold. Perfectus Aluminum Inc. and Related Companies Agree to Pay $549.5M to Settle False Claims Act Allegations Relating to Evaded Customs Duties “The President’s America First Trade Policy defends this country’s national and economic security and ensures compliance with trade laws,… pic.twitter.com/dHG4QxRUAe — U.S. Department of Justice (@TheJusticeDept) May 13, 2026 The Justice Department laid out the scope of the case and tied it explicitly to trade enforcement under the current administration: The Justice Department said the settlement resolves allegations that the companies violated the False Claims Act by knowingly and improperly evading, or conspiring to evade, antidumping and countervailing duties owed on aluminum extrusions imported from China. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche framed the case around President Trump’s America First Trade Policy, saying trade laws and tariff payments level the playing field for U.S. manufacturers. CBP also stressed that duty evasion hurts companies that follow the rules and undermines economic security. The DOJ said the companies made false statements on CBP Form 7501 Entry Summaries regarding the duties owed. Under the settlement, the False Claims Act relator share will be 17.5 percent of settlement proceeds returned to CBP, a substantial payout for the whistleblowers who helped bring the scheme to light. This was not a cold case. A jury convicted the Perfectus defendants back in 2021 on charges including conspiracy to defraud the United States. After that criminal conviction, six Southern California companies were ordered to pay $1.83 billion in restitution. The Justice Department’s earlier announcement on the criminal case described the same underlying conduct: In the earlier criminal case, the Justice Department said six Southern California companies had been ordered to pay $1.83 billion in restitution after a jury found they participated in a conspiracy to defraud the United States through aluminum imports disguised as pallets. The DOJ described large amounts of aluminum that were made to look like pallets in order to avoid duties on aluminum imported into the United States. That earlier announcement said the pallets were part of a scheme involving duties imposed on Chinese aluminum and companies that received the shipments after the duties were in place. It also explained that the criminal case followed a jury verdict, while the new May 2026 settlement resolves related civil False Claims Act litigation, including whistleblower suits. Put together, the two DOJ records show why this is not a one-day paperwork dispute. It is the latest financial consequence in a long-running tariff-evasion case. Think about the mechanics here. Antidumping and countervailing duties exist because China was flooding the U.S. market with cheap aluminum, undercutting American producers. The duties are supposed to level the playing field. What these companies allegedly did was take raw Chinese aluminum extrusions, weld them into shapes that looked like pallets, file paperwork saying they were finished goods exempt from duties, and then strip them back down into aluminum stock once they cleared customs. No one was buying pallets. The pallets were a costume. Several California-based aluminum companies have agreed to pay over half a billion dollars to settle allegations they evaded customs duties on imports from China, federal officials announced Wednesday. https://t.co/7pukT19Io2pic.twitter.com/37bZ4ZQiay — KTLA (@KTLA) May 13, 2026 The DOJ’s Trade Fraud Task Force, which was central to this case, is specifically aimed at tariff and duty evasion that deprives the government of revenue and weakens domestic industries. That framing matters because the dollars at stake are not abstract budget numbers. Every duty dollar evaded is a direct subsidy to foreign producers and a direct hit on the American companies and workers competing against them. The civil settlement does not mean every allegation was separately proven at trial, and the article should be clear about that. The separate 2021 criminal conviction is different. That conviction, the earlier $1.83 billion restitution order, and the new $549.5 million civil settlement make the financial consequences enormous. The enforcement signal here is the real story. Tariff evasion is not a victimless regulatory shortcut. It is a betrayal of the trade rules that exist to protect American manufacturers, American jobs, and the integrity of the system itself. The DOJ just put a nine-figure price tag on that betrayal, and anyone running a similar scheme should be paying very close attention.

This is absolutely crazy. The CIA just stormed into DNI Tulsi Gabbard’s office and seized dozens of boxes full of documents that she was preparing to declassify! Reportedly, many of these documents were related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the CIA’s notorious MKUltra program. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna spoke to NewsNation about the situation: JUST IN: The CIA has just SEIZED boxes of DOCUMENTS in DNI Tulsi Gabbard's office relating to the JFK files and MKUltra, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna says LUNA: "We were actually just notified that the CIA went in and took documents out of ODNI. Multiple boxes pertaining to the JFK… pic.twitter.com/7l6eMEvaVa — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 13, 2026 JUST IN: The CIA has just SEIZED boxes of DOCUMENTS in DNI Tulsi Gabbard’s office relating to the JFK files and MKUltra, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna says LUNA: “We were actually just notified that the CIA went in and took documents out of ODNI. Multiple boxes pertaining to the JFK files as well as MKUltra.” “The reason why this is troubling is A, there was an executive order that the president had directed the full declassification of JFK, but then also to the MKUltra files.” “The CIA famously has said that, you know, all documents were released and other documents had been destroyed. So these are allegedly those documents that apparently never existed.” “And so very troubling. I did just talk to Chairman Comer and we are sending in the next hour or so a preservation of documents requests to the CIA.” “I have called into the White House to the director of the CIA himself. And so obviously, as this develops, we’ll keep everyone up to date. But strange times we’re living.” As Rep. Luna noted, the CIA’s raid directly violates President Trump’s executive order directing the full release of the JFK files. The CIA cannot overrule the President of the United States! As for the MKUltra files, many of those documents were destroyed in the 1970s by the Director of the CIA to try to erase all evidence of what they did. Some of the files set to be declassified by the ODNI — which were just stolen by the CIA — were part of the remaining 15% or so still in existence. It’s very suspicious. Jesse Watters provided further coverage: BREAKING: THE CIA JUST RAIDED TULSI GABBARD’S OFFICE… HOLY SMOKES! pic.twitter.com/N8B0X0VS7c — Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) May 14, 2026 Rep. Luna later provided an update: Clarification: Took documents that ODNI has jurisdiction over. Also, this did not happen today & was not a “raid” however it did take place and we are just being made aware of it based on reporting etc. https://t.co/erYzUWDZVQ — Anna Paulina Luna (@realannapaulina) May 14, 2026 She has also promised to issue a subpoena if the CIA does not return the documents quickly: The CIA has 24 hours to return the documents to Tulsi Gabbard’s office or else I will make a motion to issue a subpoena. These documents have been requested by Congress. @DNIGabbard @CIADirector https://t.co/Y5lMw8AYK5 — Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (@RepLuna) May 13, 2026 Rep. Tim Burchett raised an excellent question while backing up Rep. Luna: The CIA lied about MK Ultra existing. They were sued and were forced to admit it but say they aren’t doing it now. Which lie do you believe? Subpoena and preserve these documents now. https://t.co/sshVaySK5k — Tim Burchett (@timburchett) May 13, 2026 Is the CIA trying to keep something from getting out? If so, what are they trying to hide?… We’ll continue to bring you any further developments about this very strange and fishy situation. In the meantime, be sure to share this article and let us know your thoughts in the comments!

Look, we need to talk about this video. President Donald Trump arrived at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 14 for a state visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping. The ceremony had everything: red carpet, military honor guard, flags, schoolchildren waving flowers. It was textbook diplomatic pomp, the kind of thing that shows the world’s two most powerful nations treating each other with maximum respect. And then the Star-Spangled Banner started playing. And so did what sounds, unmistakably, like gunfire. JUST IN: President Trump walks the RED CARPET and the USA National Anthem starts blasting in Beijing, with President Xi at 47’s side, cannons firing Grand sight! What a show of RESPECT for the United States on the world stage. This is HISTORY. pic.twitter.com/jrxdj1KfG9 — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 14, 2026 Now, to be completely fair: those are ceremonial cannon salutes. That is a normal part of state welcome ceremonies. China was honoring the President of the United States with the full diplomatic package, and cannon salutes have been part of that package for centuries. Nobody is alleging that Xi Jinping ordered anyone to shoot at anything other than the sky. But watch that video with your eyes closed and tell me what you hear. You hear the American national anthem, and you hear what sounds like repeated gunshots punching through it. Boom. Boom. Boom. Over and over. During our anthem. While the President of the United States stands at attention and salutes. The White House Press Pool described the scene in real time: Travel pool note #3 – Welcome ceremony POTUS and Xi moved to the raised red and gold dais as the Chinese military band played the Star Spangled Banner. Trump saluted as cannon fire rang out across Tianenmen Square. Both leaders then stood to attention for the Chinese national… — White House Press Pool Reports (@WHPressPool) May 14, 2026 “Cannon fire rang out across Tiananmen Square.” That is the pool reporter’s own language. And on the ground, with the acoustics of that massive square, the effect was apparently thunderous. The White House itself posted official video of the arrival, presenting the moment as a formal and respectful welcome during the state visit. The Star-Spangled Banner plays as President Donald J. Trump is greeted by President Xi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China. pic.twitter.com/ANPzR3WQmi — The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 14, 2026 Associated Press provided a full account of the ceremony’s scale and choreography: The ceremony took place at the Great Hall of the People on Tiananmen Square, with Trump and Xi meeting in front of a heavily choreographed state-arrival backdrop. The two leaders shook hands, spoke briefly, and posed for cameras before the welcome sequence moved into full diplomatic pageantry. The American anthem played first while ceremonial cannons sounded a welcome salute, then the two leaders moved toward the military honor guard. The scene also included goose-stepping troops, a sword-carrying Chinese service member directing the movement, and a long red-carpet path across the cleared square. Tiananmen Square had been sealed off for the ceremony except for officials, press, military personnel, and invited participants. Military units paraded into place, American and Chinese flags were displayed across the hall and square, and hundreds of primary-school children lined the route wearing bright colors, holding flowers, and waving both nations’ flags. In other words, this was not a small handshake photo-op. It was a full visual production built to show respect, power, and protocol at the opening of Trump’s Beijing summit with Xi. Again, all of this is honor. All of this is respect. Nobody disputes that. But the sound on video is jarring in a way that cannot be separated from recent history, because no American president in modern memory has faced what Donald Trump has faced. Start with the most recent. On April 25, 2026, just weeks before this Beijing ceremony, a man allegedly tried to kill President Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner at the Washington Hilton. The Justice Department laid out the charges: A federal grand jury charged Cole Tomas Allen with attempting to assassinate President Donald J. Trump in connection with the April 25 shooting at the Washington Hilton. The indictment also charged Allen with assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon, transporting a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. According to DOJ, Trump was present at the dinner when Allen ran toward the stairs leading to the ballroom and fired a Mossberg Maverick 88 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, hitting a Secret Service officer in the chest. Allen was arrested with the shotgun, a .38 caliber pistol, dozens of rounds of ammunition, knives, daggers, sheaths, holsters, pliers, and wire cutters. That was three weeks ago. Three weeks before the President stood in Beijing listening to cannon blasts tear through his national anthem. And that was the third publicly documented gun-related assassination attempt or alleged attempt. The FBI and Justice Department have detailed the others: On July 13, 2024, a shooting at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania resulted in the death of one spectator and injuries to then-former President Trump and other attendees. The FBI investigated the shooting as an assassination attempt and potential domestic terrorism, said the shooter acted alone based on the evidence available at that stage, and said the firearm used in the attack had been purchased legally. Trump survived that attack after being wounded in the ear while speaking outdoors to supporters. Then on September 15, 2024, a Secret Service agent spotted the barrel of a rifle aimed from brush near the sixth hole at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach. Agents fired at the suspect, and a federal grand jury later indicted Ryan Wesley Routh for attempted assassination. Investigators recovered an SKS semiautomatic rifle with a scope, an extended magazine, and other materials near the fence line where Routh had allegedly been positioned. Butler. West Palm Beach. The Washington Hilton. And now our President stands on a red carpet in Beijing, saluting, while what sounds exactly like gunfire hammers through the Star-Spangled Banner. Let’s say it one more time for the people in the back: this was ceremonial cannon fire. It was an act of diplomatic honor. President Xi was giving President Trump the full red-carpet treatment, and by every account the two leaders were cordial and the pageantry was grand. But optics are optics, and sound is sound. And when you have a president who has been shot at more than any American leader since the attempts on Gerald Ford, the sound of explosions ripping through the national anthem hits different. It just does. The Chinese protocol team probably never thought twice about it. Cannon salutes are what they do. But for Americans watching that clip at home, knowing what this president has survived, the audio lands like a gut punch. President Trump, for his part, stood ramrod straight, saluted, and did not flinch. Because of course he didn’t. The man took a bullet to the ear and stood up pumping his fist. Ceremonial cannons in Beijing were never going to rattle him. But the rest of us are allowed to wince. What’s your perspective?