Pending tax claims against Trump to be dropped, says US Justice Department

The US government has agreed to permanently drop any past tax claims against President Donald Trump, his family and companies.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has been "forever barred" from ​pursuing any audits by the US Justice Department.

The document, signed by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, ‌said the American government could not audit Mr Trump's tax returns filed before Monday ‌or any matters "that were raised or could have been raised".

It came as an expansion of the president's settlement with the IRS on Monday ⁠in which he agreed ​to drop his $10bn lawsuit over ​the leak of his tax ​returns, alongside claims over the search of his Florida home and the Russian collusion scandal.

The Justice Department said the deal is "only with respect to existing audits, not future", reported NBC News.

It stops the US from seeking damages that could have been asserted against the plaintiffs - Mr Trump, his sons Donald Jr and Eric, and their company, alongside other family members and businesses.

Democrat Richard Neal said Trump had "turned the federal government into his personal protection racket" and it was a "dark day for our democracy".

Daniel Werfel, a former IRS commissioner during the Biden administration, said the arrangement granted Mr Trump and his family separate tax rules from other Americans.

He said: "Whether you are the president or Joe the plumber, people expect the same tax rules and enforcement framework to apply to everybody."

The announcement also comes after the Trump administration said the settlement would include the creation of a nearly $1.8bn fund, which has drawn strong criticism.

The "Anti-Weaponisation Fund" will compensate allies of the Republican president who believe they have been unjustly investigated and prosecuted.

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Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he was "not a big fan" of the fund.

Democrats and government watchdogs called it "corrupt" and unconstitutional and said it had the potential to become a "slush fund" for the president and his allies, but Mr Trump said it was dedicated to "reimbursing people who were horribly treated".

Mr Blanche said it was "a lawful process for victims of lawfare and weaponisation to be heard and seek redress".

He also failed to rule out the possibility that people who carried out violence during the 6 January 2021 US Capitol riot will be considered for payouts from the new fund.

(c) Sky News 2026: Pending tax claims against Trump to be dropped, says US Justice Department