The ruling was a blow to both President Trump, who had voluntarily dismissed the suit last week, and to the Justice Department, which used the suit to establish a fund likely intended for Trump allies.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

The motion was particularly significant because it asked the judge overseeing the initial suit against the I.R.S. to examine the terms of the deal.

© Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times

The Trump administration is creating a $1.8 billion fund to compensate people it says were wronged by the federal government, a group that could be largely made up of the president’s allies.

© Eric Lee for The New York Times

There should be no payouts to Jan. 6 rioters.

There’s no telling where this leads.

By issuing a prohibition on federal investigations that might threaten Trump’s finances, the Justice Department has placed the president and his family in a new category.

Readers respond to news that the I.R.S. would be barred from pursuing tax claims against President Trump, his family or his businesses. Also: Protecting precious places; growing native plants.

The president’s corruption and subversion of democratic tradition risk becoming the norm.