Bessant repeatedly referenced the ongoing litigation when asked about that part of the settlement during a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Wednesday.
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant declined to say Wednesday whether President Donald Trump and his family will still be exempt from IRS audits after taking office abandoned plan The $1.776 billion compensation fund would have benefited the president’s allies.
“The litigation is ongoing and I cannot comment on ongoing litigation,” Bessant told lawmakers during a Senate Finance Committee hearing.
It was a frustrating answer for Democratic lawmakers hoping to get answers from Bessant in a hearing ostensibly focused on the Treasury Department budget, a day after Acting Attorney General Todd Branch appeared to indicate that the portion of the settlement dealing with immunity from IRS audits remains in place for the Republican president.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., who tried repeatedly and failed to get Bessant to respond, said, “It’s clear you’re running away from this and trying to use it as an excuse. It’s outrageous to the American republic.”
White House representatives did not respond to inquiries from The Associated Press about the progress of the settlement. Trump himself has yet to comment publicly on the cuts to the compensation fund.
Government decides to cancel compensation fund scheme, which may include payments to participants Riots at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021amid bipartisan outrage and Fierce political backlash That could thwart key elements of the White House agenda. Still, the status of the IRS exemption agreement remains part of the controversial settlement being crafted to address Trump’s problems. $10 billion lawsuit filed against IRS It’s unclear, but Branch said Tuesday that “nothing has changed” in that regard.
Last week, a federal judge in Florida overseeing Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS initially dismissed the case but later reopened it and ordered the president’s lawyers to respond to allegations that Trump dropped the claims to avoid court review of the deal.
When she initially dismissed the case, Judge Kathleen Williams, who handled the lawsuit, admonished the Justice Department for a lack of transparency and said no agency “filed any settlement documents or filed any documents to ensure that the settlement was appropriate on the pending question of whether there was an actual case or dispute.”
Matt Platkin, a former New Jersey attorney general who now works at the law firm Platkin LLP, represented lawmakers and judges challenging the settlement, which he called “one of the biggest scams in American history.”
He told The Associated Press that Branch’s testimony Tuesday on plans to dismantle the weaponized funds and grant Trump immunity from audits “underscores the need for the court to continue its investigation in Florida.”
Lawmakers attempted to question Bessant about the agreement Wednesday, but were unsuccessful.
“Secretary Bessant owes the committee an explanation as to how much Treasury knew about the sordid settlement. That’s because his department was involved from start to finish,” said Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.
Wyden asked Bessant: “Does the audit immunity the IRS gave Trump, his family and his businesses still stand?”
Bessant declined to respond, citing unresolved legal disputes.
If audits and inspections of the president’s taxes are eliminated under the settlement, an unknown figure could be erased from the federal tax collector’s bill.
Previous reports from The New York Times and ProPublica show that: Reportedly long-term audit of technology used by Trump Tax avoidance a few years ago could result in a bill estimated at $100 million if the IRS uncovers wrongdoing.
Even some Republicans expressed concerns Wednesday about plans to shield Trump from the IRS.
“I don’t think any American should have a deal like this,” Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana told reporters outside the chamber.
Nina Olson, founder of the Center for Taxpayer Rights, which sued the Trump administration over the IRS’ disclosures to immigration enforcement, called the settlement “the lowest point for the IRS since the 1970s, when President Nixon tried to help his friends by preventing the IRS from auditing them and hurt his enemies by urging the IRS to audit them.”
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