Trump Faces Legal and Ethical Scrutiny on Multiple Fronts
Former President Donald Trump faced scrutiny across various domains, including legal challenges, ethical concerns regarding Voice of America, and economic policy debates, according to multiple news sources from January 30, 2026.
Trump, along with the Trump Organization and his sons Eric and Donald Jr., filed a lawsuit against the IRS and the Treasury Department, seeking $10 billion in damages. The lawsuit, filed in a Miami federal court on Thursday, accused the federal agencies of failing to prevent former Internal Revenue Service contractor Charles Littlejohn from illegally obtaining and disclosing tax returns to media outlets such as The New York Times and ProPublica between May 2019 and September 2020, according to Time. The lawsuit claims the IRS and Treasury Department had a duty to safeguard confidential tax returns from unauthorized inspection and public disclosure.
Meanwhile, Kari Lake, a Trump administration official overseeing the parent agency of Voice of America (VOA), faced criticism for allegedly using the U.S. government-owned network to promote President Trump. According to NPR, Lake praised Trump effusively in a January 2026 appearance on VOA's Persian language service. Critics argued that her comments violated the spirit, and potentially the letter, of federal law aimed at protecting VOA's editorial independence. NPR reported that Lake had encountered legal and political obstacles in her efforts to dismantle the government-funded broadcaster but had instead accelerated her use of the network to promote Trump.
In economic news, President Trump publicly welcomed the weakening dollar, despite concerns about its potential effects on the U.S. economy, NPR reported. On Tuesday, Trump told reporters, "I think it's great. Look at the business we're doing. The dollar's doing great." According to NPR, the dollar had reached a four-year low against a basket of major foreign currencies.
Adding to the critical commentary surrounding Trump, actor Peter Mullan, star of "The Fall of Sir Douglas Weatherford," expressed strong disapproval of Trump. In an exclusive interview with Variety, Mullan stated he would not be visiting the U.S. anytime soon, citing the "horrors" of Trump and the "killing of Alex Pretti," adding, "They are rewriting history as we speak."
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