Justice Department agrees not to pursue any tax claims against Trump as part of IRS deal

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed an agreement Tuesday declaring the federal government will not seek any sort of audit or payment from the president, his family members and companies as part of Donald Trump’s settlement agreement with the IRS.

In a sweeping one-page addendum to Monday’s settlement agreement establishing a nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund, Blanche agreed that the U.S. is “FOREVER BARRED and PRECLUDED from prosecuting or pursuing, any and all claims,” including “monetary relief,” that “have been or could have been” asserted by the IRS against Trump, his family or his businesses.

The addendum comes a day after the Justice Department announced that Trump and his co-plaintiffs would drop their $10 billion suit against the IRS in connection with the 2022 search of Mar-a-Lago, his Florida home, and the Russian collusion scandal “in exchange” for creating the fund, which the Justice Department said set up a “systematic process to hear and redress claims of others who suffered weaponization and lawfare.”

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the expanded agreement.

The addendum blocks the U.S. from seeking damages that could have been asserted against the plaintiffs — Trump, his sons Donald Jr. and Eric and their company — as well as other family members and their companies in “any matters currently pending or that could be pending (including tax returns filed before the Effective Date) before Defendants or other agencies or departments.”

The “effective date” would be May 18, the date the settlement was signed. The addendum does not specify which other agencies or departments it is referring to.

Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, said in a statement Tuesday that Trump has “turned the federal government into his personal protection racket.”

“This settlement is corruption in the plainest sight: forcing IRS to abandon every audit, past and present, into Trump, his family, and their businesses while steering $1.8 billion in taxpayer dollars toward his friends, cronies, and Trump-affiliated companies is self-dealing at its most grotesque,” the statement said.

“It’s a dark, dark day for our democracy.”