tRump is no longer facing the specific federal IRS criminal investigation or the associated $10 billion lawsuit. The Justice Department reached an expansive settlement agreement that officially barred the IRS from further probing Trump, his family members, or his businesses for past tax issues.
(The Hill) – The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is “forever barred” from examining President Trump’s old tax returns, according to an addendum to the Justice Department’s settlement of President Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS, which was made public Tuesday.
Signed by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the single-page document says the tax agency will not be allowed to probe any of Trump’s ”tax returns filed before the effective date” of Monday’s settlement agreement for any “presently known or unknown” claims.
The settlement expansion prevents the IRS from prosecuting the president and shields other parties affiliated with Trump, including family, trust funds, parent, sister or related companies and subsidiaries.
On Monday, Trump announced a decision to drop a $10 billion lawsuit against the agency for leaking his tax returns. In exchange, the Justice Department created a $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” to provide an avenue for individuals who allege they’ve been unfairly treated by previous administrations.
Trump and his oldest sons, who were also plaintiffs in the IRS suit, will not receive a payout from the fund but will be given a formal apology, per the DOJ release.
The fund is set to be managed by a commission of five members appointed by the attorney general; one member will be chosen in consultation with congressional leadership.
And yes, the addendum to Donald Trump’s tax settlement is directly tied to the tax return disclosures that New York Attorney General Letitia James used in her legal cases against him.
The connection involves the origin of those tax documents and what the settlement resolves:
- The Leaks: The controversy stems from the actions of former IRS contractor Charles “Chaz” Littlejohn. He stole and leaked years of Trump’s confidential tax returns to news outlets.
- The AG’s Investigation: Attorney General Letitia James used that publicly disclosed tax and financial information as part of her office’s investigation into the Trump Organization for business fraud and tax evasion.
- The Settlement: Trump filed a massive lawsuit against the IRS and Treasury Department, arguing that their failure to safeguard his private data allowed the leaks to happen. The Justice Department settled this lawsuit by issuing an addendum that permanently bars the IRS from auditing or pursuing back taxes against Trump and his businesses.
While the DOJ settlement limits the federal government from pursuing Trump’s past taxes, it is separate from Letitia James’s civil enforcement actions in New York, which are managed by state authorities rather than the IRS.
About two weeks ago or so, I was asked to change the post so that someone could have the first spot to post about the location of the Immortal. When I followed up about where the post was, I heard that there were internal permission issues. I am assuming this has not yet gotten resolved?
Contact me about travel next week, please.
Thank you for reading today's post. Have an InterStellar Day! ~PrP
