The US Department of Justice has expanded its USD 10 billion settlement with US President Donald Trump to settle his lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), including a commitment that the IRS will no longer pursue Trump, his family and his companies for unpaid taxes.
This was reported by Politico.
The nine-page settlement agreement released by the Department of Justice makes no mention of resolving disputes over Trump's tax returns, which he has repeatedly said have been the subject of lengthy audits by the Internal Revenue Service.
However, a one-page document posted on the Department of Justice website early Tuesday contains a sweeping waiver that says the IRS is "forever prohibited and barred" from conducting "audits" of Trump, "related or affiliated persons," and related trusts and businesses.
The waiver specifically covers "tax returns filed prior to the effective date" of the agreement, which was Monday.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche signed the addendum, dated Tuesday. It does not bear the signature of any IRS representative or any of Trump's current lawyers. Metadata attached to the document indicates that it was prepared or scanned at 7:50 am, Tuesday.
Blanche did not sign the original settlement agreement, which was signed by Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, IRS CEO Frank Bisignano and Trump's attorney Daniel Epstein.
John Koskinen, the former IRS commissioner from 2013 to 2017, said the expanded agreement set a "terrible precedent" that could actually give Trump a windfall. And Danny Werfel, the former IRS commissioner from 2023 to 2025, said he was "not aware of any precedent where the IRS has agreed in advance to permanently waive the audit of a person's or business's previously filed tax returns."
What is known about Trump's lawsuit
In January, Trump filed a USD 10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the leak of his tax information to the New York Times by agency contractor Charles Littlejohn.
Littlejohn, who pleaded guilty to the leak in 2023, told the court that he leaked the data because he was upset with Trump's refusal to release his tax returns.
The leak actually occurred in 2019, during Trump's first term, and Littlejohn was prosecuted by the Biden's Department of Justice.
Meanwhile, the publication used the "leaked" information to produce a sensational report in September 2020 that showed that Trump often paid little or no taxes. Littlejohn also provided ProPublica with tax returns from many other wealthy individuals, including Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Michael Bloomberg.
Trump withdrew his lawsuit in favor of the settlement shortly before the judge could issue a ruling.
Tax experts described the agreement as striking in its scope. It eliminates any scrutiny, even of tax returns filed long before Trump became President. It also extends these protections to Trump's sister, his parents, "family members or others filing a joint return," as well as trusts, related companies, branches, and subsidiaries.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the U.S. Senate has meanwhile for the first time supported an initiative that would limit President Donald Trump's war powers over Iran. This would require congressional approval for possible future military action.
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