Justice Department Bars IRS From Auditing Trump Tax Returns

The Justice Department on Tuesday issued an addendum to its settlement ending President Trump's lawsuit against the IRS that bars the agency from conducting any audits of tax returns filed by Trump, his family and their companies. The filing, signed by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and posted to the Justice Department's website, states that the IRS is "forever barred and precluded" from "prosecuting or pursuing" examinations or reviews of Trump or "related or affiliated individuals" and businesses.

The addendum expands the settlement announced Monday that establishes a $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" to compensate those who allege they were wrongly targeted under the prior administration, in exchange for Trump dropping his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS as well as two civil claims for $230 million.

"This is only with respect to existing audits, not future," the DOJ said in a subsequent statement.

Trump sued the IRS after a government contractor pleaded guilty in 2023 to stealing the tax information of Trump and other wealthy Americans and leaking it to media outlets in 2019 and 2020. A group of House Democrats called the settlement "collusive litigation to force the American people to put ...

" They said the settlement would violate the separation of powers, the Domestic Emoluments Clause, and the two-year statute of limitations for the civil claims.

“As far as my return, I want to file it, except for many years, I've been audited every year. Twelve years, or something like that. Every year they audit me.”

Brandon DeBot, the policy director of the Tax Law Center at NYU School of Law, called the arrangement in Tuesday's addendum a “breathtaking abuse of the tax and legal system.” DeBot said the Department of Justice does not have the authority to offer the broad protections promised in the addendum.