John Anthony Castro

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John Anthony Castro
EducationTexas A&M International University (BA)
University of New Mexico (JD)
Georgetown University (LLM)
OccupationTax return preparer
Political partyRepublican (2020–present)[1]
Other political
affiliations		Democratic (before 2020)[1]
MovementNever Trump movement
Signature

John Anthony Castro (born October 4, 1983) is an American tax return preparer. He is known for his involvement in Dixon v Commissioner and its related cases, an extensive series of court rulings that — in finding that Castro's clients improperly filed their tax returns — ruled that certain authentication requirements are not subject to waiver.

Castro is a self-described attorney, though has never been licensed to practice law. According to the New York Times, he has been involved in a "dizzying array of legal disputes", and has sued or been sued by clients, competitors, government agencies, and others. In 2024, he was indicted on 33 felony charges of tax fraud, though he denies all wrongdoing. A United States District Court ruled him to be a "vexatious litigant."[2]

Early life and education[edit]

Castro earned a bachelor's degree from Texas A&M International University in Laredo, Texas in 2008,[3] before receiving a J.D. from the University of New Mexico and LLM from Georgetown University.[4]

He was banned from participating in Georgetown University Law Center's job fair as a student and then later on as an employer over what the university claimed were "deliberate misrepresentations on his resume"; the university had considered expelling him over the matter but ultimately decided against it.[5] These alleged misrepresentations included serving as a cadet at the United States Military Academy at West Point when he had spent one year at the United States Military Academy Preparatory School, a military-style prep school for students not yet academically qualified to attend West Point, and then dropped out. Castro claimed there was no misrepresentation, as he claimed he had been conditionally accepted to West Point with the first year at the prep school, but withdrew after the first year.[6][1]

Career[edit]

Castro claims he is an attorney.[7][8][9][10] According to a 2023 article by the Philadelphia Inquirer, he is not licensed to practice law;[7] the New Hampshire Union Leader, in 2023, reported that he was at the time "not licensed to practice law in any state";[11] and the New York Times, Deseret News and Norman Transcript noted in separate stories that Castro once acknowledged that he has never been licensed to practice law.[12][13][14]

According to the New York Times, Castro has been involved in "a dizzying array of legal disputes".[12]

Castro & Co.[edit]

In 2013, shortly after completing his LLM, Castro was hired by Gudorf Law Group of Dayton, Ohio, though worked there only briefly.[4][15]

In about 2016, after leaving Gudorf Law Group, Castro established his tax preparation service, Castro & Co.[16][17] A virtual business based first in Orlando and then in North Texas, at Castro & Co. Castro did contingency fee refund work,[18] a practice in which a tax preparer retains, as payment, a portion of the tax refund he is able to secure on behalf of a client.[19]

The Dixon cases[edit]

At Castro & Co., Castro issued "legal opinions" to United States expatriates living in Australia — some of whom were employees of investment firm Dixon Advisory — on ways they could exclude certain earnings from being reported on their U.S. tax returns.[10] The company's CEO Alan C. Dixon, an Australian citizen who had taken up residence in the United States to invest in the New Jersey real estate market,[20][21] replaced his own tax accountancy, PwC, with Castro & Co.[10][21]

Castro amended the tax returns PwC filed for Dixon to claim foreign tax credit on Dixon's franking credits, allowing Dixon to transform his tax liability into a $3,268,930 refund due to him from the U.S. Government.[10] Upon receiving the revised returns Castro prepared, the IRS initiated an audit of Dixon, assessed penalties against him, and seized his refund.[10][20] Dixon's lawsuit against the U.S. Government to recover his refund was the subject of the United States Tax Court case Alan Dixon v Commissioner of Internal Revenue, described by Tax Notes Federal as "a cautionary tale of cross-border tax compliance complexities".[22][23] According to Justia's summary of the case:[24]

During the litigation, it became clear that Dixon had not personally signed his name on the 2017 amended returns—the tax preparer [Castro] had signed Dixon’s name—and no authorizing power-of-attorney documentation accompanied the amended returns.

Because federal law prevents a taxpayer from suing for a refund without having previously submitted a “duly filed” claim to the IRS, and the 2017 amended returns were not “duly filed” due to the lack of a proper signature, Dixon's case against the U.S. Government was dismissed leaving him, according to the Australian Financial Review, with "nought, aside from penalties and legal fees."[24][23][21] The Dixon case was one of a "long-line"[18] of cases adjudicated that involved Castro signing his name in place or on behalf of his Australia-resident clients.[25] Carlton Smith, writing in Tax Notes Federal, noted that "in all Castro cases" courts held that "the signature requirement mandating that the taxpayer sign is statutory and not subject to waiver".[26]

Tax fraud conviction[edit]

In January 2024, the United States Department of Justice unsealed a 33-count grand jury indictment against Castro, culminating a years-long investigation into Castro & Co. related to the filing of fraudulent tax returns.[27] [28][29][30][31][32] Castro was arrested by special agents of IRS Criminal Investigations on January 9, 2024.[30][29][31][32]

United States Attorney Leigha Simonton said that Castro's crimes were "stunning" for their "brazenness" and involved him promising higher tax refunds to clients than they could legitimately receive, padding their tax returns with bogus deductions, and then keeping half of the amount refunded to the client by the government for himself.[17][28] According to prosecutors, "for one client, who made approximately $103,000 in income, Mr. Castro claimed over $90,000 in deductions related to unreimbursed employee expenses" while, with another client he "deducted over $26,000 in expenses that he claimed related to a nascent cupcake business that had generated only $250 in revenue".[33] Prosecutors went on to allege that Castro "often acted in a highly vindictive manner when questioned or challenged by clients or others, often berating individuals in emails, threatening legal actions, or by filing amended tax returns, without clients’ permission or knowledge, that removed all deductions, causing the taxpayer-victim to then owe the IRS tens of thousands of dollars".[33] It is alleged that Castro's enterprise resulted in more than $15.5 million worth of tax losses to the United States.[34]

Castro denied any wrongdoing and explained that he had already taken responsibility for what he said were past instances in which he'd misinterpreted the tax code and had thus far paid back $700,000 to the United States.[30][28][31] At trial, Castro's attorneys argued that his application of the tax code involved "aggressive" and "unconventional" legal positions but did not rise to the level of "willful violations of the law".[34]

In May 2024, Castro was convicted of all 33 charges and was remanded into custody pending sentencing.[35][33]

Euclid University[edit]

In 2016, Castro was awarded a teaching appointment at Euclid University, becoming the supervising faculty member for the university's Master of Laws program in taxation.[36]

Politics[edit]

Campaigns[edit]

Between 2004 and 2021, Castro unsuccessfully stood for election to Webb County Court of Commissioners, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House of Representatives.[37][38][39]

In 2022, Castro launched an unsuccessful run for President of the United States as a Republican in the 2024 United States presidential election.[40] According to Castro, he ran to attempt to achieve legal standing to disqualify Donald Trump from seeking reelection under the 14th Amendment.[21] He began filing pro se lawsuits to block Trump in early 2023.[41][7][41][42]

Castro was a ballot-listed candidate in the 2024 New Hampshire Republican primary.

Castro would ultimately file dozens of unsuccessful federal lawsuits in courts across the country seeking to have Trump disqualified and becoming, according to the New York Times and NPR, the "most prolific" advocate for disqualification.[43][30][44] By the end of the year, more than a dozen of his cases had either been dismissed or non-suited, with additional dismissals that followed in 2024.[45][46][47][48][49][50][51] Appellate panels in the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit both rejected his appeals, while the U.S. Supreme Court refused to consider his petition for a writ of certiorari.[52][53][54]

Litigation against Trump[edit]

See also: 2024 presidential eligibility of Donald Trump

In early 2023, Castro began to file lawsuits in federal court to try to disqualify Donald Trump from the 2024 presidential election under the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution,[41] representing himself without aid of an attorney[7][41] and promoting his legal efforts with posts to social media[42] like "they finally realized I’m not fu**ing around," "I'm the greatest attorney that's ever lived" and "If people understood how insanely high my IQ is, they’d realize that Trump has already lost."[42][55][56]

Castro would ultimately file dozens of unsuccessful federal lawsuits in courts across the country seeking to have Trump disqualified and becoming, according to the New York Times and NPR, the "most prolific" advocate for disqualification.[57][30][58] By the end of the year, more than a dozen of his cases had been dismissed, with additional dismissals that followed in 2024.[45][46][59][60][61][50][62] Appellate panels in the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit both unanimously rejected his appeals, while the U.S. Supreme Court refused to even consider his petition for a writ of certiorari.[52][53][63]

During an evidentiary hearing in a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire, the New York Times reported that Castro appeared "to be unfamiliar with court procedures."[12] According to the Arizona Capitol Times, in his ruling tossing Castro's Arizona case, federal judge Douglas L. Rayes chastised Castro "for trying to manufacture evidence designed to influence his decision."[50] In deliberating on his lawsuit in West Virginia, federal judge Irene C. Berger cautioned Castro about making "snide and malicious comments" in his filings, noting Castro had referred to a United States magistrate judge's report as "half-witted" and had questioned the "competency" of the Clerk of Court.[64]

John Anthony Castro filed dozens of unsuccessful lawsuits seeking to disqualify Donald Trump from the 2024 presidential election.

Castro prosecuted his lawsuits independently, without support from constitutional scholars.[65][66] Described by media as "bizarre,"[67] "quixotic,"[68] and as "a plea for attention,"[11] they were distinct from what CNN characterized as "more serious" efforts to disqualify Trump under the 14th Amendment brought by CREW and others.[65] In analyzing the impact of Castro's cases on the 2024 election, The Economist noted that while "more credible plaintiffs are bringing challenges that force judges to reckon with uncomfortable questions of constitutional law," Castro's lawsuits made "little headway with judges."[68]

Derek Muller, a scholar of election law at Notre Dame Law School, observed that Castro's "poorly litigated cases" actually helped Trump insulate himself against disqualification because "plaintiffs with poor legal arguments create adverse precedent and sometimes bad legal holdings."[12][69] Specifically, one of Castro's failed federal lawsuits created precedent that was then used by the Trump campaign to stop a disqualification effort brought in state court in Michigan by other plaintiffs.[70][12]

Claims of harassment by Donald Trump and the CIA[edit]

In 2022, according to the New Hampshire Union Leader, Castro claimed that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) attempted to plant listening devices in his automobile on orders of Donald Trump.[8]

The following year, Castro sued Trump for $180 million, alleging that the former president was engaged in a conspiracy with the IRS and CIA to “monitor, surveil, and harass” him.[21][71] He enjoined several others to the lawsuit, including IRS criminal investigators, attorneys, a senior CIA official, staff of the Pine Gap satellite surveillance base, and a John Doe defendant, all of whom he alleged conspired with Donald Trump to harass him.[71]

Castro also emailed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to express concerns he would be "assassinated" and to demand the U.S. Secret Service protect him.[67]

Views[edit]

In 2008, Castro denounced the "corruption, lies, theft and war" of George Bush.[72]

In 2021, Castro criticized Donald Trump, calling him a "false prophet".[39][73] According to Politico, Castro said he "wants to return to the compassionate conservatism of the [George] Bush era."[74]

Personal life[edit]

Castro is a resident of Mansfield, Texas.[75]

Works[edit]

Electoral history[edit]

Webb County (Texas) Commissioners Court Position 3, Democratic primary (2004)[37]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jerry Garza 3,038 30.4
Democratic Felix Velasquez 2,611 26.1
Democratic Roque Vela 2,420 24.2
Democratic J. "Cuate" Mendoza 1,498 15.0
Democratic John Anthony Castro 437 4.4
Total votes 10,004 100
United States Senator from Texas, Republican primary (2020)[76]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican John Cornyn (incumbent) 1,470,669 76.04
Republican Dwayne Stovall 231,104 11.95
Republican Mark Yancey 124,864 6.46
Republican John Anthony Castro 86,916 4.49
Republican Virgil Bierschwale 20,494 1.06
Total votes 1,934,047 100.0
Texas' 6th congressional district, special primary election (2021)[77]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Susan Wright 15,052 19.2
Republican Jake Ellzey 10,851 13.8
Democratic Jana Lynne Sanchez 10,497 13.4
Republican Brian Harrison 8,476 10.8
Democratic Shawn Lassiter 6,964 8.9
Republican John Anthony Castro 4,321 5.5
Democratic Tammy Allison 4,238 5.4
Democratic Lydia Bean 2,920 3.7
All others 15,055 19.0
Total votes 78,374 100

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Judge Tosses Obscure Candidate's Attempt to Bump Trump From NH Ballot". New Hampshire Journal. October 29, 2023. Archived from the original on November 4, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2023. Castro's failure in New Hampshire will unlikely cause this political gadfly to land. He still has dozens more lawsuits in other states and a history as a perennial candidate. After running for state offices in Texas as a Democrat, Castro switched parties in 2020. He made runs for Senate and Congress in Texas as a Republican, though he barely registered in the final results in either campaign. Castro has also created quite a legal record outside of politics. In 2018, his $5 million lawsuit against the Georgetown University law school was dismissed. Castro sued his alma mater after he was banned from the Georgetown hiring fair, both as a prospective employee and employer. His ban was a result of resume inflation, according to court records. Castro claimed to have been a West Point cadet, though, in fact, he attended a prep school for cadet candidates who had not yet academically qualified for the service academy.
  2. ^ Castro v. Doe, No. 4:23-cv-00613-P, at *2 (N.D. Tex. 2024) (mem. op.) PDF.
  3. ^ "Spring 2008 Commencement Exercises" (PDF). Texas A&M International University. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Law Firm Opens Offices, Adds Jobs". Sidney Daily News. August 24, 2013. Archived from the original on March 20, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  5. ^ Rosenberg, Joshua (August 15, 2018). "Tax Atty's $5M Bias Suit Against Georgetown Tossed In Texas". Law360. Archived from the original on March 25, 2023. Retrieved March 25, 2023.
  6. ^ "Judge tosses Georgetown law grad's suit over school job fair ban". ABA Journal. August 17, 2018. Archived from the original on March 19, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d Terruso, Julia (December 20, 2023). "Colorado's Supreme Court disqualified Trump from the primary ballot. Could a similar ruling come down in Pa?". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved December 22, 2023. Castro, 39, also didn't appear to have a lawyer actively working on the case. While he has described himself as an attorney on his campaign website, he is not licensed to practice law.
  8. ^ a b Landrigan, Kevin (September 2, 2023). "Trump Critic, Longshot Hopeful Has Spotty Record". New Hampshire Union Leader. Archived from the original on June 5, 2024. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
  9. ^ Castro, John Anthony (March 27, 2018). "Castro & Co. Files $247 Million Federal Defamation Lawsuit Against Moodys Gartner" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: Castro & Co. Business Wire. Archived from the original on March 27, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2023. ...against John Anthony Castro, J.D., LL.M.; a well-respected, thoroughly published, and internationally recognized International Tax Attorney in Washington, DC. Alt URL
  10. ^ a b c d e Cardan, Tamara (February 22, 2021). "Dixon: a cautionary case of U.S.-Australian tax issues" (PDF). Tax Notes Federal. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 7, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  11. ^ a b Landrigan, Kevin (November 4, 2023). "State House Dome: GOP's enhanced voter ID law holds up". Yahoo News. New Hampshire Union Leader. Retrieved November 5, 2023. Many view Castro's challenge as a plea for attention by a consultant who isn't licensed to practice law in any state and uses court rules to argue he can represent clients in federal court.
  12. ^ a b c d e Russell, Jenna (January 4, 2024). "Trump Ballot Challenges Advance, Varying Widely in Strategy and Sophistication". New York Times. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  13. ^ Ross, Keaton (September 13, 2023). "Lawsuit seeks to block Trump from the ballot in Oklahoma". Norman Transcript. Archived from the original on September 13, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023. John Anthony Castro, a Dallas-based tax advisor and perennial candidate who unsuccessfully ran for state House and U.S. Senate seats in Texas prior to his presidential bid, claims the former president violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution during the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol attack and is ineligible to run... Castro has filed similar lawsuits in 11 other states that Trump won or lost by a close margin in 2020, including Kansas, Arizona, North Carolina and Utah. His legal track record is mostly unproven. While several media outlets have called him an attorney, he stated in a recent federal court filing that he has never been licensed to practice law in any state. In 2018, Georgetown University barred Castro from participating in a job fair because he embellished his resume.
  14. ^ Benson, Samuel (September 7, 2023). "New Utah lawsuit attempts to bar Trump from 2024 election ballot". Deseret News. Archived from the original on September 9, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023. Castro has filed similar lawsuits in Florida, New Hampshire, Wisconsin and several other states... Castro filed as a Republican candidate in the 2024 election in December 2022. Several news organizations have called him an "attorney," though he is not listed in the Texas bar directory and he claimed in a recent lawsuit that he "is not and has never been licensed to practice law in any state." Castro has been accused of embellishing his resume. Georgetown barred him from a job fair, claiming Castro wrongfully claimed to have been a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Castro sued the school, but a federal judge in Texas tossed the lawsuit.
  15. ^ "Battle for the 2024 Ballot: Meet the Man Challenging Trump". Law.com. January 5, 2024. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
  16. ^ Kidd, Karen (August 22, 2018). "Judge dismisses Dallas tax attorney's $5 million discrimination suit against Georgetown University over job fair ban". Southeast Texas Record. Archived from the original on April 20, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  17. ^ a b "Mansfield Man Charged in Fraudulent Tax Return Scam" (Press release). Dallas: United States Department of Justice. January 10, 2024. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  18. ^ a b Fogg, Keith (July 26, 2021). "Unsigned and Electronically Signed Refund Claims". Tax Notes Federal. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
  19. ^ Nevius, Alistair (July 16, 2014). "Court halts IRS regulation of contingent fees for refund claims". Journal of Accountancy.
  20. ^ a b Morrill, Aaron (February 6, 2022). "Australian Developer that Backed the Mayor Goes Under Down Under". Jersey City Times. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  21. ^ a b c d e Robin, Myriam (September 25, 2023). "Donald Trump sued by Alan Dixon's tax adviser". Australian Financial Review. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  22. ^ Shilkova, Luba (Summer 2020). "Not Signing a Return". Contemporary Tax Journal. 9 (2): 69–71. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  23. ^ a b Juris, Yvonne (February 11, 2019). "Australian Drops $1.9M Tax Refund Suit After Venue Challenge". Law360. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  24. ^ a b "Justia Opinion Summary: Dixon v. United States". justia.com. Justia. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  25. ^ Smith, Carlton M. (May 25, 2023). "DOJ Wins One Case and Loses Motions in Another Where POAs Signed First Refund Claims for Taxpayers, Part I". Tax Notes Federal. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  26. ^ Smith, Carlton (February 1, 2022). "CFC in Dixon Holds Improperly-Signed Timely Forms 1040-X Cannot Be Informal Refund Claims". Tax Notes Federal. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  27. ^ Woolley, John (December 22, 2023). "IRS Investigator Not Liable For Possibly Disclosing Return Info". Bloomberg. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  28. ^ a b c Robertson, Nick (January 10, 2024). "Trump 14th Amendment political challenger arrested on federal tax charges". The Hill. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  29. ^ a b Snyder, Rachel (January 10, 2024). "Mansfield man indicted on complaints of filing fraudulent tax returns, officials say". WFAA-TV. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  30. ^ a b c d e Russell, Jenna (January 10, 2024). "Prolific Challenger of Trump's Ballot Eligibility Faces Federal Tax Charges". New York Times. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  31. ^ a b c Landrigan, Kevin (January 10, 2024). "GOP longshot presidential candidate indicted on tax fraud charges". New Hampshire Union Leader. Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  32. ^ a b Kelley, Joe (January 10, 2024). "Orlando tax firm owner, who's fought to keep Trump off ballots, arrested on 33 counts of tax fraud". WDBO. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  33. ^ a b c "Mansfield Tax Preparer Convicted of 33 Counts of Tax Fraud After Bench Trial" (Press release). Dallas, Texas: U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Texas. March 28, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  34. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference law360-2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  35. ^ Cite error: The named reference lnj was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  36. ^ "EUCLID welcomes specialized faculty member". News and Events. EUCLID. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
  37. ^ a b "Democratic Primary March 9, 2004" (PDF). Webb County, Texas. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 19, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  38. ^ "U.S. Sen. John Cornyn". Texas Tribune. March 19, 2023. Archived from the original on March 20, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  39. ^ a b Kennedy, Bud (May 15, 2021). "2nd District 6 Republican rejects Trump as a 'false prophet,' won't back Susan Wright". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Archived from the original on July 15, 2021. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  40. ^ "Trump defends praise of Putin, makes strongest hint yet of a run for president in 2024". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on February 27, 2022. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  41. ^ a b c d Tillman, Zoe (January 6, 2023). "Trump Is Already Facing a Lawsuit to Stop His 2024 Campaign". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on March 19, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  42. ^ a b c Prokop, Andrew (October 7, 2023). "The fraught debate over whether the 14th Amendment disqualifies Trump, explained". Vox. Retrieved October 7, 2023. Shortly after he registered to run, he filed a lawsuit citing Section 3 to try and get Trump taken off the ballot. He's since filed similar suits in more than a dozen other states, and constantly hypes up his effort on the website formerly known as Twitter ("They finally realized I'm not fu**ing around. Too late, beta boys," he wrote recently).
  43. ^ Betts, Anna (January 12, 2024). "Oregon Supreme Court Lets Trump Stay on Primary Ballot, for Now". NPR. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  44. ^ Stein, Perry (January 7, 2024). "The Trump Trials: The Art of the Appeal". Washington Post. Retrieved January 7, 2024. John Anthony Castro, a Republican candidate for president, has filed more than two dozen lawsuits to remove Trump from the ballot; these cases have not been successful and are not included on the map.
  45. ^ a b Ulrich, Steve (August 31, 2023). "Lawsuit Seeking to Prevent Trump From Appearing On 2024 PA Ballot Filed in Commonwealth Court". PoliticsPA. Archived from the original on September 19, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) previously dismissed a similar lawsuit Castro filed against Trump, also ruling he lacked standing in the case... The 39-year-old Castro filed his candidacy for president in January 2022 and campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission indicate that he loaned his campaign $20 million back in March. His website says that he graduated from Georgetown University Law Center and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of New Mexico Law School, although he is not licensed to practice law. Despite his loan that was reported to the FEC, Castro has been sued by American Express for an outstanding credit card bill of $53,923.74, and recently requested a pro bono lawyer in a lawsuit brought by a former tax client, hinting that he could not afford a lawyer.
  46. ^ a b Hill, Jessica (October 4, 2023). "Lawsuit filed against Nevada secretary of state, Trump to bar him from ballot". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved October 24, 2023. Castro filed similar lawsuits in several other states, including South Carolina, Arizona and Colorado. The cases have been dismissed in Maine, Pennsylvania, Utah and Oklahoma, according to court records.
  47. ^ Downey, K. C. (October 30, 2023). "Judge dismisses candidate's lawsuit to keep Trump off New Hampshire primary ballot". WMUR. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  48. ^ McElhinny, Brad (December 21, 2023). "Lawsuit to boot Trump off West Virginia ballots is dismissed because plaintiff lacks standing". West Virginia MetroNews. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  49. ^ Winger, Richard (December 14, 2023). "John Anthony Castro Dismisses His Massachusetts and Montana Cases on Trump Ballot Access". Ballot Access News. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  50. ^ a b c Fischer, Howard (December 6, 2023). "Court finds Trump challenger not serious candidate". Arizona Capitol Times. Retrieved December 15, 2023. And Rayes took a slap at Castro for trying to manufacture evidence designed to influence his decision. He noted that on Oct. 27 – the same day a federal judge in New Hampshire threw out Castro's challenge there because he lacked standing to sue – Castro's campaign purchased a digital billboard in downtown Phoenix, about three blocks from the federal courthouse here. And the message began running on Nov. 13, the day before the hearing before Rayes. The judge was not amused.
  51. ^ Winger, Richard (December 17, 2023). "John Anthony Castro Voluntarily Dismisses his California Anti-Trump Ballot Access Lawsuit". Ballot Access News. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  52. ^ a b Weld, Elliott (November 22, 2023). "1st Circ. Rejects Challenge To Trump's 2024 Eligibility". Law360. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  53. ^ a b Winger, Richard (September 6, 2023). "Lawsuit on Former President Donald Trump's Eligibility to be on Ballots Reaches U.S. Supreme Court". Ballot Access News. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  54. ^ Kruzel, John (October 2, 2023). "US Supreme Court rebuffs long-shot candidate's bid to disqualify Trump in 2024". Reuters. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  55. ^ John Anthony Castro [@RealJohnACastro] (September 7, 2023). "Castro v. Trump is now pending before the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court. Blitzkrieg! If people understood how insanely high my IQ is, they'd realize that Trump has already lost this battle" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 11, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2024 – via Twitter.
  56. ^ John Anthony Castro [@RealJohnACastro] (September 11, 2023). "If he was the greatest attorney, he would've thought of this idea before I did. I'm the greatest attorney that's ever lived, and I'll prove it when I single-handedly defeat Donald Trump. I'm not gonna take the ball 99 yards across the entire football field just a hand it to somebody else at the 1 yard line who's been sitting on the bench the entire game" (Tweet). Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024 – via Twitter.
  57. ^ Betts, Anna (January 12, 2024). "Oregon Supreme Court Lets Trump Stay on Primary Ballot, for Now". NPR. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  58. ^ Stein, Perry (January 7, 2024). "The Trump Trials: The Art of the Appeal". Washington Post. Retrieved January 7, 2024. John Anthony Castro, a Republican candidate for president, has filed more than two dozen lawsuits to remove Trump from the ballot; these cases have not been successful and are not included on the map.
  59. ^ Downey, K. C. (October 30, 2023). "Judge dismisses candidate's lawsuit to keep Trump off New Hampshire primary ballot". WMUR. Retrieved November 2, 2023.
  60. ^ McElhinny, Brad (December 21, 2023). "Lawsuit to boot Trump off West Virginia ballots is dismissed because plaintiff lacks standing". West Virginia MetroNews. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  61. ^ Winger, Richard (December 14, 2023). "John Anthony Castro Dismisses His Massachusetts and Montana Cases on Trump Ballot Access". Ballot Access News. Retrieved December 15, 2023.
  62. ^ Winger, Richard (December 17, 2023). "John Anthony Castro Voluntarily Dismisses his California Anti-Trump Ballot Access Lawsuit". Ballot Access News. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  63. ^ Kruzel, John (October 2, 2023). "US Supreme Court rebuffs long-shot candidate's bid to disqualify Trump in 2024". Reuters. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  64. ^ Volokh, Eugene (October 31, 2023). "Interesting Standing Dispute in Fourteenth Amendment Section 3 Case Against Trump". Volokh Conspiracy. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  65. ^ a b Cole, Devan (October 2, 2023). "Supreme Court declines to consider longshot bid to disqualify Trump from running for president". CNN. Retrieved October 2, 2023. Those cases – in Minnesota and Colorado – are far more serious legal endeavors than Castro's challenge, and they have the backing of a wide array of legal experts and constitutional scholars, though they still face long odds to prevail.
  66. ^ Weigel, David (September 1, 2023). "Meet the people who think Trump can be disqualified from running". Semafor. Retrieved September 30, 2023. But on Wednesday, without consulting Messner or others, fringe presidential candidate John Anthony Castro filed a legal complaint in New Hampshire court, making the Trump eligibility argument.
  67. ^ a b Kovensky, Josh (September 7, 2023). "A Bunch Of Fringe Figures Have Also Seized On The Disqualification Clause". Talking Points Memo. Archived from the original on September 25, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023. Castro further raised the stakes in his bizarre gambit on Wednesday night. He said on Twitter that he filed a petition for the Supreme Court to hear his case, and sent an email to the Department of Homeland Security demanding Secret Service protection. "I am blank copying media outlets on this email because, if I should be assassinated, I want it documented that I formally requested U.S. Secret Service protection and was ignored," Castro wrote.
  68. ^ a b "Does a civil-war-era ban on insurrectionists apply to Donald Trump?". The Economist. November 21, 2023. Retrieved November 21, 2023. Many of them have been filed by John Anthony Castro... His quixotic efforts are making little headway with judges. More credible plaintiffs are bringing challenges that force judges to reckon with uncomfortable questions of constitutional law that they surely hoped they would never have to think about.
  69. ^ Mueller, Derek (November 16, 2023). Richard L. Hasen (ed.). "Political questions and Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment". Election Law. Retrieved November 16, 2023. Let's start in New Hampshire, where pro se plaintiff John Castro (filing serial lawsuits around the United States) is singularly creating some of Trump's best precedent, as courts toss these poorly litigated cases. (It's worth noting a series of similar problems have arisen in the past with natural born citizen claims, as plaintiffs with poor legal arguments create adverse precedent and sometimes bad legal holdings.
  70. ^ Muller, Derek (December 12, 2023). "Recent news of pending Section 3 challenges". Election Law. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  71. ^ a b Mathur-Ashton, Aneeta (January 5, 2024). "Trump and the 14th Amendment: Here's Where the Remaining State Challenges Stand After Maine and Colorado Rulings". The Messenger. Archived from the original on January 6, 2024. Retrieved January 5, 2024. Castro filed a challenge to Trump, Charles Rettig, Maria Chapa Lopez, Tuan Dang Ma, Anne Craig-Pena, Anton Pukhalenko, Estela Wells, John Turnicky, and John Doe in June in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. According to the initial complaint filed on June, 5, Rettig is the former Trump-appointed Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Chapa Lopez is the former Trump-appointed U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, Tuan Dang Ma is a "Trump-supporting" IRS-CI Special Agent, Craig-Pena is a "Trump-supporting" IRS Attorney with the Office of Chief Counsel, Pukhalenko is a "Trump-supporting" tax examiner with the Internal Revenue Service, Wells is a "Trump-supporting" tax examiner with the Internal Revenue Service, Turnicky is the former Head of Security for the Central Intelligence Agency and current housing program manager for the U.S. Department of Defense at the Joint Defense Facility at Pine Gap ("JDFPG"), and John Doe "assisted in the conspiracy to unlawfully surveil, harass, and retaliate against Plaintiff." Castro is representing himself in the suit.
  72. ^ Castro, John Anthony (September 30, 2008). "Bush's bailout plan would be a disaster and leave America in the hands of foreign interests". Houston Chronicle. Archived from the original on March 21, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  73. ^ Payne, Daniel (May 1, 2021). "Trump gets tested in suburban Texas". Politico. Archived from the original on March 20, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  74. ^ Payne, Daniel (May 1, 2021). "Trump gets tested in suburban Texas". Politico. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  75. ^ Winger, Richard (January 6, 2023). "Little-Known Republican Presidential Candidate Files Lawsuit to Bar Former President Donald Trump from Running in 2024". Ballot Access News. Archived from the original on March 19, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  76. ^ "Texas Official Election Results". results.texas-election.com. Texas Secretary of State. Archived from the original on November 8, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
  77. ^ "Texas 6th District U.S. House special election result". Washington Post. Archived from the original on April 30, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2023.

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