Trump to get audit immunity as $1.8 billion fund in doubt

[demmiblue]

Source: MSN/Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- US officials are continuing with an agreement that bars the government from probing past tax filings from President Donald Trump and his businesses, according to a person familiar with the matter, while a plan to set up an “Anti-Weaponization Fund” is on hold.

The Trump administration on Monday privately signaled it was pausing plans to implement the $1.8 billion fund to pay people who claim they were victims of government “weaponization,” Bloomberg has reported.

Another part of the deal banning any audits and tax-related probes of Trump, his family members and his companies that were started before the settlement isn’t affected by the decision to place the fund on hold, said the person who asked to remain anonymous speaking about the sensitive matter.

The White House referred questions to Trump’s personal legal team

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-to-get-audit-immunity-even-as-18-billion-fund-in-doubt/ar-AA24EV33

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[UpInArms]

1. f**k that

you know he has been cheating or this would not be important

[Give Peace A Chance]

8. FUCKED UP like a soup sandwich

[2na fisherman]

10. So True

It screams "consciousness of guilt." He knows he would likely have all his wealth seized and possible criminal charges filed against him and his corrupt sons and the Trump Organization. Can you say RICO case?

[rurallib]

2. One big reason to vote blue in the midterms

While trump may be able to veto legislation to stop this crap, Dems will at least investigate.

BTW - who is the "agreement" between? Trump and Trump's IRS?

[Lovie777]

3. I don't think so.....

Just because the acting US AG plus DOJ say so it’s still illegal.

[riversedge]

13. yes, but that will take year of wasted tax money spent. Worth it yes.

[Tactical Peek]

4. This shit is fucked up and bullshit in the extreme.

This must be what it is like to live in a country filled with those who are gullible or complicit or both.

[HighFired49]

16. Banana Republic

The term implies deep political corruption, collusion between the government and foreign corporations, and severe socioeconomic inequality between a wealthy elite and an exploited working class.

[sop]

5. Trump's IRS agreement is against the Law, it will not stand.

(From Tax Notes) 'Trump's IRS Audit Deal Denounced as Threat to Law and Code'

"The unprecedented order barring the pursuit of tax claims against President Trump and his affiliates undermines legal accountability and may violate the revenue code’s protections against political interference, according to observers."

"The May 19 order, signed by acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche following the dismissal of Trump v. IRS, No. 1:26-cv-20609 (S.D. Fla. 2026), also likely exceeds the scope of what the Justice Department may do, legal and policy professionals told Tax Notes."

“ 'There is no historical precedent for this kind of presidential immunity from the IRS,' Ajay K. Mehrotra of Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law said. 'This is truly unheard of.' "

"Blanche signed the order as part of an addendum to the settlement agreement to end the lawsuit that Trump, his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, and the Trump Organization LLC, initiated January 29 seeking $10 billion in damages stemming from an unauthorized leak of their confidential tax information."
....
"The order permanently stops the United States from pursuing any claims arising from tax returns filed before the settlement’s effective date against Trump, his family members, affiliated individuals, trusts, and entities."
......
"In a May 21 letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Bisignano, Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and member Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., called the agreement 'brazen corruption' and demanded answers on how it materialized, to what extent Trump was involved in its discussions, and whether Treasury General Counsel Brian Morrissey’s May 18 resignation was related to the agreement."
......
"Judge Kathleen M. Williams of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida noted in her order closing Trump v. IRS that the settlement agreement hadn’t been filed with the court."
.....
"Negotiations involving Trump to end tax audits of himself, his family, and his businesses could violate section 7217, which prohibits the president from directly or indirectly requesting the termination of a tax audit, Brandon DeBot of the Tax Law Center at New York University wrote in a blog post."
......
“ 'Trump’s dirty deal has crossed the line into illegality,' Robert Weissman and Lisa Gilbert of Public Citizen said in a statement, adding that the agreement may put IRS officers at risk of breaking the law."

More at link:

https://www.taxnotes.com/featured-news/trumps-irs-audit-deal-denounced-threat-law-and-code/2026/05/22/7w4v1

[travelingthrulife]

20. Who will stop it? Our judicial system appears to be completely broken.

[bluestarone]

6. I worry very much that we may be headed to an administration that will be

Fully out of control with all laws in our country! Is Martial law right around the corner? We will soon find out!

[Bayard]

7. Since the judge has already paused the money to do her own investigation,

I suspect she will throw out the entire, "deal."

[MervinFerd]

9. THE AGREEMENT IS MEANINGLESS.

The IRS will not investigate while Trump is President. And, a Democratic administration will just tear up, or ignore, the agreement.

But, talk it up for the political benefit.

[Karasu]

12. Doesn't the language they used say "in perpetuity" or "forever" or something to that effect? That's what they were

attempting to do.

[Javaman]

17. that was my first thought as well. nt

[Fiendish Thingy]

11. No he won't.

While he’s in office, he won’t be audited, but once he is out, his “agreement” is unenforceable.

[tonekat]

14. NO!!! No immunity for this criminal bum!

That would be a complete travesty and remove all faith in law and institutions, which is hanging on by a thread anyway.

[republianmushroom]

15. Any attorney involved in this should be disbarred.

[Alice B.]

18. Is this maybe what they wanted all along?

Ask for something outrageous (the slush fund) so suddenly audit immunity looks "reasonable?" I say with big air quotes around "reasonable?"

Either way I'm glad posts above make the case it won't hold up.

[riversedge]

19. You are probably spot on!!

[Alice B.]

23. My dream is that we're inching closer to the freezing and seizing of assets. I'm gonna go light a candle.

[70sEraVet]

27. I'm inclined to agree with you.

[republianmushroom]

21. "A land of laws". Another worn out myth.

[Mz Pip]

22. Tax immunity

should not be negotiable. This needs to be stopped as well.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

24. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent refuses to say whether Trump remains exempt from IRS audits

WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent refused to say Wednesday whether President Donald Trump and his family would still get immunity from IRS audits after the administration abandoned plans for a $1.776 billion compensation fund that would have benefited the president’s allies.

“There’s continuing litigation, and I’m unable to comment on ongoing litigation,” Bessent told lawmakers at the Senate Finance Committee hearing.

It was a frustrating answer for Democratic lawmakers looking to get answers from Bessent at a hearing ostensibly focused on the Treasury Department’s budget and came a day after acting Attorney General Todd Blanche seemed to indicate that the portion of the settlement dealing with the IRS audit immunity would still be in effect for the Republican president.

After several failed attempts to get Bessent to answer, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said, “It’s been very clear you’re dodging this and you’re trying to use it as an excuse. It’s just outrageous on behalf of the American public.”

https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/treasury-secretary-scott-bessent-refuses-191942942.html

[LetMyPeopleVote]

25. MS NOW- Even if Trump kills his $1.8 billion slush fund, his IRS lawsuit headache isn't over

The controversial settlement included both a fund that has sparked a political backlash and IRS immunity for the president, his relatives and Trump businesses.

Link to tweet

https://www.ms.now/opinion/trump-billion-fund-irs-settlement-legal-jeopardy

A lawsuit is valid only when there is “a case or controversy” between adverse parties. Since Trump controls the executive branch, there was an obvious lack of adversity between a sitting president and entities whose decisions were subject to his direction. From the outset, Williams, who presides over the case in the Southern District of Florida, expressed skepticism of the lawsuit’s legitimacy. She asked the parties to submit briefs addressing whether the lawsuit was, in fact, a legitimate adverse proceeding....

Last week, 35 former federal judges filed a motion asking Williams to reopen the case. They argued that “the purported ‘settlement’ that the parties never placed before this Court raises profound questions about the parties’ candor toward the Court and manipulation of the judicial system, which threatens to undermine confidence in the administration of justice.” The settlement is “a fraud on the Court,” they wrote.

Two days after the 35 former judges filed their motion, Judge Williams issued an order in response. The court, she wrote, “is empowered to investigate serious misconduct as a collateral issue” and to determine whether the suit was filed for an “improper purpose.”

Among the key points in her order:

the grant of IRS immunity did not relate “to the immediate subject matter of the claim,” which was the leak of Trump’s tax information;

the IRS and the U.S. Treasury “did not ‘even try to defend against” Trump’s claims, despite actively opposing “nearly identical claims in other litigation”;

and, as the former judges had argued, Trump’s claims were “clearly untimely” and barred by the expired statute of limitations.

Williams ordered Trump, the IRS and the U.S. Treasury to respond by June 12 on: “(1) the charges of collusion and whether the Parties are truly adverse; (2) the assertion that the dismissal in this case was premised on deception by the Parties; and (3) the question of whether the case should be reopened because the Court was the ‘victim of a fraud.’”

So here is Trump’s quandary: He must answer Williams’ questions with facts. He cannot simply submit a memorandum filled with platitudes denying collusion or dismissing the matter as a witch hunt. The court will likely expect sworn affidavits setting out facts to support any defense that there was no collusion and no deception.

The judge will almost certainly expect Trump, the named plaintiff, to submit an affidavit himself responding to all three of Williams’ inquiries.

Whatever is filed in response to the court’s order could raise additional issues, which could lead to an evidentiary hearing with witnesses. Matters not fully addressed in the affidavits or that otherwise remain ambiguous would need to be explored, with Williams empowered to assess credibility firsthand.....

Because we have an independent judiciary and judges committed to the rule of law, Trump could remain accountable for fraud or other misdeeds he may have committed in pursuing his lawsuit against the IRS or the settlement. Jettisoning the controversial fund doesn’t automatically end Judge Williams’ inquiry.

Even if trump drops the slush fund part of the case, Judge Williams will need to still hold a hearing on the IRS immunity issue and trump may have to testify by either affidavit or in person. This hearing will be fun to watch

[Frasier Balzov]

26. Lacks consideration.

If it is in settlement of the fake lawsuit.

[Lovie777]

28. First off who are the US Officials?.......................

persons not authorize for squat.

[bucolic_frolic]

29. Who has authority to convey audit immunity? No one.

It's an agreement. I'd expect this to be challenged in court at some point. If this were valid we'd all have the power to declare our own audit immunity forever.

Absurd the press even prints this garbage.