WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent refused to say Wednesday whether President Donald Trump and his family would still get immunity from IRS audits after the administration for a $1.776 billion compensation fund that would have benefited the president鈥檚 allies.
鈥淭here鈥檚 continuing litigation, and I鈥檓 unable to comment on ongoing litigation,鈥� Bessent told lawmakers at the Senate Finance Committee hearing.
It was a frustrating answer for Democratic lawmakers looking to get answers from Bessent at a hearing ostensibly focused on the Treasury Department鈥檚 budget and came a day after acting Attorney General Todd Blanche seemed to indicate that the portion of the settlement dealing with the IRS audit immunity would still be in effect for the Republican president.
After several failed attempts to get Bessent to answer, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 been very clear you鈥檙e dodging this and you鈥檙e trying to use it as an excuse. It鈥檚 just outrageous on behalf of the American public.鈥�
The White House referred the Associated Press to Secretary Bessent’s comments in response to an inquiry about the status of the settlement. In the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump did not confirm whether the compensation fund had been scrapped or was simply on hold. 鈥淚鈥檇 have to ask the lawyers, I don鈥檛 know,” he told reporters. 鈥淎s far as I鈥檓 concerned, it was a beautiful thing,鈥� he said.
The administration decided to scrap plans for the compensation fund, which could have included payouts to participants in the , after bipartisan outrage and a that threatened to stall key elements of the White House agenda. Still, the status of the IRS immunity deal as part of the controversial settlement crafted to resolve Trump鈥檚 remained unclear, though Blanche said Tuesday that 鈥渘othing has changed鈥� in that regard.
Last week, a federal judge in Florida overseeing Trump鈥檚 lawsuit against the IRS, who had initially dismissed the case, reopened the case and ordered the president鈥檚 attorneys to respond to allegations that Trump abandoned his claims to avoid the court鈥檚 scrutiny of the deal.
When she initially dismissed the case, Kathleen Williams, the judge handling the lawsuit, admonished the Justice Department for a lack of transparency and said no agency 鈥渟ubmitted any settlement documents nor filed any documents ensuring that the settlement was appropriate where there was an outstanding question as to whether an actual case or controversy existed.鈥�
Matt Platkin, a former New Jersey attorney general now at the law firm Platkin LLP, which is representing lawmakers and judges challenging the settlement agreement, called it 鈥渙ne of the greatest scams in American history.鈥�
He told The Associated Press that Blanche鈥檚 testimony on Tuesday over plans to scrap the weaponization fund and grant Trump audit immunity 鈥渦nderscores the need for the court to continue its inquiry in Florida.鈥�
Lawmakers on Wednesday tried to grill Bessent on the agreement without success.
鈥淪ecretary Bessent owes the committee an explanation of what the Treasury knows about the dirty settlement. That鈥檚 because his department was involved from beginning to end,鈥� said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
Wyden asked Bessent: 鈥淒oes the IRS audit immunity given to Trump, his family, and his businesses still stand?鈥�
Bessent declined to answer, citing the unresolved legal dispute.
If audits and examinations into the president’s taxes were thrown out under the settlement, an untold figure could be wiped from his bill to the federal tax collector.
Previous reporting from the New York Times and ProPublica shows that a to avoid paying taxes years ago could have resulted in an estimated $100 million bill if the IRS had found wrongdoing.
Even some Republicans expressed concern on Wednesday over the plan to shield Trump from the IRS.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., speaking to reporters outside the chambers, said, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think any American should have a deal like that.鈥�
Nina Olson, founder of the Center for Taxpayer Rights, which has sued the Trump administration over IRS disclosures to immigration enforcement, called the settlement 鈥渢he lowest point for the IRS since the 1970s and President Nixon鈥檚 efforts to help his friends by trying to stop IRS audits of them and hurting his enemies by urging IRS audits on them.鈥�
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