Trump Family Gets Tax Immunity in IRS Settlement Expansion

The Trump administration has moved to shield Donald Trump, his family and his businesses from ongoing or potential tax audits, dramatically widening the scope of a settlement tied to the leak of the president’s tax records.

The directive, issued Tuesday by the Department of Justice, came one day after Trump agreed to settle a $10bn lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the disclosure of his tax information to media outlets between 2018 and 2020.

In a one-page document signed by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the Justice Department said authorities would be “FOREVER BARRED and PRECLUDED” from “prosecuting or pursuing” tax claims against Trump, members of his family and his businesses.

The document was posted on the Justice Department’s website without a formal announcement or press release. It says the waiver applies to tax inquiries that are “currently pending or that could be pending”, including any related to returns Trump filed before Monday’s settlement.

The move immediately drew criticism from Democrats and ethics experts, who framed it as an extraordinary use of federal power to protect the president’s personal financial interests.

Senator Adam Schiff of California accused the administration of corruption and “self-dealing”.

“The tax-dodging President gets himself and his whole family a tax break, thanks to Todd Blanche,” Schiff said in a statement on social media.

Richard Painter, who served as chief White House ethics lawyer under former President George W Bush, said exempting Trump from tax obligations could raise constitutional concerns.

“If the president or his family owe the IRS money, this is a violation of the domestic emoluments clause of the US Constitution, which specifically says that the president cannot receive any profits or advantages from the US government other than his salary appropriated by Congress,” Painter told Al Jazeera.

The Justice Department and the Trump Organization did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The directive expands a settlement that already carried political weight. The agreement created a $1.776bn “Anti-Weaponization Fund” designed to compensate people who say they were targeted by politically motivated “lawfare”.

Critics have described the fund as a potential “slush fund”, warning that it could be used to reward Trump allies.

The structure of the fund has also raised questions. A five-member commission will decide how money is distributed, with four members appointed directly by Blanche, a Trump appointee who previously served as the president’s personal lawyer.

During heated exchanges with Democratic senators on Tuesday, Blanche denied that Trump had directed him to create the fund or that it would be used for partisan purposes.

“Whether you’re Hunter Biden, or whether you’re another individual who believes they were the victim of weaponisation, they can all apply to this fund,” Blanche said, referring to former President Joe Biden’s son.