Trump just granted himself immunity to tax investigations

Convicted fraudster Donald Trump just “forever barred and precluded” the US Inland Revenue Service (IRS) from investigating his tax returns to date.

The news comes as part of a $10bn lawsuit the US president levelled against the IRS as retribution for leaking his tax records between 2018 and 2020. The edict also applies to Trump’s family and his businesses.

Billionaire tax leaks

Back in 2023, former IRS contractor Charles Edward Littlejohn was convicted of illegally distributing the tax returns of many of America’s wealthiest individuals to two news outlets. Along with Trump, the documents also included returns for Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.

In 2020, the New York Times published reports stating that US president paid between $0 and $750 in taxes over his first term.

The following year, ProPublica likewise reported that America’s 25 richest often paid less in tax that many of the working public. The outlet also published notable irregularities in Trump’s own taxes.

This leak violated the confidentiality clauses of IRS Code 6103, which are among the most stringent in US law.

As such, in January 2026, Trump filed a federal lawsuit to sue the IRS and Treasury Department for $10bn in damages. He included the Trump organization as a plaintiff, along with his sons Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr.

The suit alleged that the leak:

caused reputational and financial harm to Plaintiffs and adversely impacted President Trump’s support among voters in the 2020 presidential election.

‘Anti-weaponization fund’

On Monday 18 May, judge Kathleen Williams dismissed the case. That the same day, the Justice Department posted a settlement agreement for the lawsuit to its website. 

Williams admonished the Justice Department, along with the other government departments, for their lack of transparency in the run-up to the settlement. She stated that none of the agencies involved:

submitted any settlement documents nor filed any documents ensuring that settlement was appropriate where there was an outstanding question as to whether an actual case or controversy existed.

Monday’s settlement included an agreement for the US government to make a formal apology to Trump. It also included a provision to create a $1.776bn “Anti-Weaponization Fund”. This would apply to individuals who believe they have been targeted by the US government for political ends, i.e. Trump’s allies.

Acting attorney general Todd Blanche refused to rule out the possibility that it could extend to payouts for the 6 January rioters. He called the fund:

a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponization to be heard and seek redress.

Trump, meanwhile, stated that it was for “reimbursing people who were horribly treated.”

‘Slush fund’ for Trump allies

Predictably, swathes of the US political system have already called out the move. As AP reported:

Democratic lawmakers and ethics watchdogs slammed the creation of the fund, saying it was corrupt, opaque and had the potential to become a “slush fund” for the president and his allies. Even Republican lawmakers have expressed signs of discomfort about the fund’s creation, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who told reporters that he’s “not a big fan.”

Now, Monday’s settlement does state that Trump himself:

will not receive any monetary payment or damages of any kind

However, Trump appeared unsatisfied with this lack of a personal payout. On Tuesday 19 May, the Justice Department posted a single-page ‘addendum’ to the settlement. It effectively granted Trump immunity from tax investigations.

The document stated that United States are “FOREVER BARRED and PRECLUDED” from “prosecuting or pursuing, any and all claims” relating to tax returns submitted by the plaintiffs — Trump, his sons and their businesses — before 18 May 2026.

Likewise, the addendum — signed by Blanche — protects Trump from claims relating to “Lawfare and/or Weaponisation”.

Corruption and contempt — the Trump style

It seems superfluous, at this point, to highlight the extraordinary level of corruption on display here. Trump, who for all intents and purposes is the American government, has cut a deal with himself to grant himself immunity from investigations into his tax returns.

As a reminder, the US courts already convicted Trump of 34 counts of falsifying his business records. Now, as part of an opaque addendum to an already-bogus lawsuit, he’s blocked any further charges relating to his tax returns to date.

Glibly, we often state that the only certainties in life are death and taxes. However, given enough power, enough money, and enough corruption, the latter can be avoided completely. Those three traits are embodied in the disgusting slime Donald Trump.

Featured image via Win McNamee/Getty Images