Six Trump-Affiliated Companies Insist They’re Not Part Of IRS Immunity Deal—While Others Stay Silent
Six Trump-linked companies have denied they have any involvement in the agreement that appears to give President Donald Trump and his affiliates broad legal immunity, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Wednesday—while others have refused to deny they’re covered by the deal—as the agreement and Trump’s settlement with the IRS become increasingly controversial and threaten to kill Todd Blanche’s nomination as attorney general.
Warren announced Wednesday the results of the investigation she and other lawmakers launched into 11 companies with ties to Trump and his family, sending letters asking if they believed they were covered by the wide-reaching deal that appears to shield Trump, his eldest sons and any “related or affiliated” parties from legal liability.
The agreement, part of Trump’s broader settlement with the IRS, says the federal government is “forever barred” from prosecuting or bringing civil claims against Trump or “affiliated individuals” for actions that already happened by the date of the settlement, which appears to apply to “any matters currently pending or that could be pending” before the IRS, Treasury Department or other government agencies.
The immunity agreement and its seemingly broad scope has become widely controversial, and Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., have demanded the Justice Department formally narrow its scope before they’ll vote for Blanche’s nomination as attorney general to move forward—resulting in a planned Thursday vote on Blanche getting postponed.
Cornyn and Tillis want the DOJ to modify the agreement to stop it from being “extended to a wide variety of people,” according to The New York Times, as well as to make sure it cannot be used to shield Trump from audits of future tax returns.
Six companies responded to the Democrats’ letter and said they did not believe they were covered by the immunity deal and did not have any involvement with it, Warren said Wednesday: Kalshi, Polymarket, Trump Media and Technology Group, American Bitcoin, Powerus and Kaz Resources.
Another five companies “refused to respond” to the inquiry, Warren said—including the Trump Organization, World Liberty Financial, 1789 Capital, Foundation Future Industries and Tag Air—which she claimed raises “real concerns that they plan to use it as a get-out-of-jail-free card.”
DOJ is reportedly working with Cornyn and Tillis on modifying the IRS settlement, but there’s so far still no indication when they’ll reach an agreement that will allow the vote on Blanche to move forward. Cornyn and Tillis are key votes on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has to vote first to move the nomination forward to the Senate floor before the full Senate votes and Blanche can be officially confirmed. With all Democratic lawmakers on the committee opposed to Blanche, Republicans cannot afford to lose a single GOP vote, or else the nomination won’t clear the committee—which is why Cornyn and Tillis’ view of the agreement has become so pivotal.
The language of the agreement in the IRS settlement suggests it gives Trump and his affiliates broadscale immunity from legal liability for actions that were taken by the time the settlement was signed in May. In his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Blanche has claimed the agreement is much narrower than that, such as alleging it does not apply to any agencies beyond the IRS and Treasury Department and that it does not stop the government from prosecuting people. Those claims are different from what the actual text of the agreement says, as it states it applies to “other agencies and departments” and says the federal government is “forever barred and precluded from prosecuting or pursuing” claims. Unless the DOJ does modify the agreement to more specifically spell out what exactly it does or does not include, it’s likely it would ultimately be up to a court to determine its scope, if a future Democratic White House ever tried to take legal action against Trump or his affiliates. The judge overseeing Trump’s initial lawsuit against the IRS, which resulted in the settlement, also issued an order that would appear to nullify the agreement, banning the government from using it in any official proceedings, but Blanche has said the DOJ believes the agreement is still in effect despite that order.
Senate Democrats are also trying to kill the IRS immunity deal through legislation, with Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee introducing an amendment to a tax bill that would nullify the existing deal and more broadly ban the IRS from having tax immunity agreements with sitting presidents and their affiliates. That amendment is expected to be voted on Thursday.
The immunity agreement is one of two provisions in Trump’s settlement with the IRS, with the other being a $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund designed to pay money to those who feel the judicial system has been “weaponized” against them. Blanche has already claimed the fund is “dead” after even Republicans raised objections to it, but it has also become an issue in his confirmation battle, as Tillis and Cornyn want the DOJ to formally rescind the order creating the fund. The Trump administration is also blocked in court from carrying out the fund, but the lawmakers want assurances the policy will not move forward if that order ever expires. Tillis has suggested the DOJ is closer to reaching an agreement on the fund with him and Cornyn than it is on the immunity agreement, but nothing has yet been formally announced on the DOJ killing the fund.
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Blanche Claims Trump’s IRS Immunity Deal Still In Effect—After Court Essentially Voids It (Forbes)