Donald Trump, his business and his eldest sons have been granted immunity from ongoing investigations from US tax authorities.
It comes after the US president tabled a $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over a tax return leak.
The Department of Justice announced on Tuesday that it would grant immunity to Trump following the settlement of this lawsuit, in exchange for the US government funding a $1.8bn support package for victims of alleged "lawfare".
Acting attorney general Todd Blanche called the fund and its application process “a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponisation to be heard and seek redress”.
Writing in relation to Trump's $10bn lawsuit, Blanche wrote a one-page statement on Tuesday, saying: “The United States RELEASES, WAIVES, ACQUITS, and FOREVER DISCHARGES each of the Plaintiffs from, and is hereby FOREVER BARRED and PRECLUDED from prosecuting or pursuing, any and all claims."
Speaking to the Financial Times, a Department of Justice spokesperson explained that the decision to ban the IRS from pursuing claims against Trump was "only in respect to any existing audits".
“There would be little point in settling several significant claims if either party could simply turn around and seek to initiate more adverse claims that could have been pursued previously,” added the spokesperson.
Danny Werfel, a former IRS commissioner also told the FT that the case was seemingly unprecedented, explaining that he is "unaware" of any previous example of the IRS agreeing in advance to "permanently forgo examination of previously filed tax returns for a specific person or business".
Werfel added: "Whether you are the president or Joe the plumber, people expect the same tax rules and enforcement framework to apply to everybody.”
Trump's real estate company, the Trump Organization, was fined $1.6 million by a New York judge in 2023 over tax-related crimes. Jurors had found the Trump Organization guilty of fraud.
The president himself was found liable for business fraud in 2025 after inflating the value of his business properties in order to secure favourable loans.
It is understood that the new set up after the settlement deal will largely support those who allege they have been politically targeted by the Biden-era justice department.
Patty Murray, a Democratic senator, has accused Trump of setting up a “slush fund to enrich his own friends”. “What we are talking about is nothing short of the sitting president of the United States looting from the Treasury for his own gain,” she said.
Blanche, who was grilled by legislators on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, did not rule out the possibility that people who carried out violence during the January 6 riot at the US Capitol in 2021 will be considered for payouts.
Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday that the fund is dedicated to “reimbursing people who were horribly treated”.
