Trump IRS Audit Addendum

Trump IRS Lawsuit settlement grows more iniquitous 

By: Austin Abbring

May 22, 2026

I, unfortunately, have to further amend my coverage of the ludicrous IRS settlement led by Donald Trump and Todd Blanche. As if it could not get any more corrupt, Attorney General Blanche has worked a settlement addendum into the $1.7 billion “weaponization” fund following Trump dropping his lawsuit against the IRS. This waiver would now permanently prohibit the IRS from auditing, investigating, or prosecuting Donald Trump, his sons, and his businesses. This blatant tax cheating is unparalleled and sets a remarkably dangerous precedent.

Statutorily speaking, it is U.S. law that a President, Vice President, and most executive officers cannot request that any IRS officer terminate a tax investigation or audit. IRS agents are required by law to report any such request. However, there is one limited exception where the Attorney General can intervene in audits, investigations, et cetera, and that is precisely what has happened here. The Department of Justice’s exercise of this option is what the Trump camp is arguing regarding the legality of this case addendum.

This has clearly and correctly caused a stir in Washington already. With Democrats unified in fighting this waiver alongside three lawsuits being filed, two of which were filed by police officers present on the January 6th insurrection. Even Republicans were split, causing them to recess early from their reconciliation on Homeland Security funding. We truly are living in some unprecedented times. This is yet another landmark event in the second Trump administration, which is full of reprehensible acts.

As of right now, the “anti-weaponization” slush fund still stands and will have no oversight or transparency. We are all left to speculate where this nearly $2 billion, pulled from the U.S. Treasury (our taxpayer dollars), will end up. Will Donald Trump file a claim of “political weaponization” against him, or even simply pocket the vast majority of the money? Will he just split it between his most loyal, crooked cronies? Will it end up in the hands of January 6ers and seditious neo-nazi groups such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers, who attempted to overthrow the United States government, killing Capitol police in the process? Given our lack of clarity, I imagine some combination of the three.

I fear that the majority of this money winds up in the hands of groups such as the Proud Boys, who were the vanguard of January 6th. My trepidation is that such a large fund is potentially available to these groups, and it gives them the ability to strategize and then mobilize something far more grave than what we experienced in 2021. Perhaps this amount of money makes an insurrection successful this time. Perhaps they organize an uncontainable number of people to overwhelm the Capitol and interfere in the certification process. Perhaps J.D. Vance does not uphold democratic norms as Mike Pence did five years ago. In J.D.’s case, I find that highly probable.

We are still two years out from the end of this term, and Trump has toyed with the idea of running for a third term in 2028. This would obviously be a violation of the Constitution, but then again, Donald Trump does not care about that document, as he continuously uses it as kindling. This slush fund is sizable enough for a so-called private militia to act on behalf of Donald Trump or whoever the Republican candidate is, should they lose to Democrats in 2028. I feel this may just be an overreaction, but then again, Donald Trump is the only president in U.S. history not to comply with the peaceful transfer of power, and, per his own words in late 2025, “Maybe we’d like a dictator.” We must remain vigilant. This IRS settlement, this slush fund, this addendum, which is an absurd abuse of our tax system, are all the ingredients for something sinister in 2028.