Trump's Former Defense Lawyer Signs Order Making Trump "FOREVER BARRED" From IRS Audits — Federal Law Says the President Can't Do That

On May 20, 2026 — one day after the $1.776 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" settlement was announced — acting Attorney General Todd Blanche quietly signed a one-page addendum to the deal. It had nothing to do with weaponization. It granted the president and his entire family permanent immunity from IRS audits.

What the addendum says

The document states that the United States government is:

"FOREVER BARRED and PRECLUDED from prosecuting or pursuing, any and all claims," including "monetary relief," that "have been or could have been" asserted by the IRS against Trump, his family or his businesses.

The language covers:

• Donald Trump personally
• His family members
• His trusts
• His companies and business entities
• His affiliates
• All tax returns filed before May 18, 2026 — the settlement date

What it erases

The New York Times and ProPublica had previously reported that a long-running IRS audit of Trump's taxes could result in a bill exceeding $100 million. Trump famously refused to release his tax returns while campaigning, citing the audit. Now his former defense lawyer — acting as the nation's top law enforcement officer — has erased the audit entirely.

The DOJ claimed the agreement only covers "existing audits, not future." But tax experts note that tax returns are correlated — prior-year losses and deductions carry forward into later filings. If the IRS can't examine the earlier years, its ability to challenge later returns is fundamentally weakened. The immunity isn't just retrospective; it cripples future enforcement.

Why it's illegal

Federal law creates multiple problems with this arrangement:

1. The IRS's audit authority belongs to the IRS, not the AG: Under 26 U.S.C. § 7602, the Internal Revenue Code grants the IRS — not the Attorney General — independent statutory authority to examine any return and determine its correctness. The AG has broad settlement authority over tax litigation, but legal experts say it is at minimum "a serious question" whether that extends to waiving the IRS's future examination authority over unrelated returns.
2. The president can't order audits stopped: A separate federal criminal law prohibits the president and executive branch leaders from requesting the termination of IRS audits. The DOJ did not address this law in the addendum.
3. Ultra vires — beyond lawful authority: Legal scholars argue the release is void on its face because the Attorney General acted beyond his lawful authority. A future DOJ could challenge it as ultra vires — an act that exceeds the actor's legal power is, by definition, void.

The conflict of interest

The sequence:

1. Todd Blanche was Trump's personal defense attorney
2. Trump fired confirmed Attorney General Pam Bondi
3. Trump installed Blanche as acting AG
4. Blanche signed an order granting his former client — and the client's family, trusts, and business empire — permanent release from federal tax liability

The conflict of interest is on the face of the document. A lawyer signed an order permanently benefiting his former client, using the authority of an office his former client gave him.

The reactions

• Brandon DeBot, policy director of the Tax Law Center at NYU School of Law: "a breathtaking abuse of the tax and legal system" — the DOJ does not have the authority to offer protections this broad
• Sherman Standberry, CPA and CEO of My CPA Coach: "I have never seen a blanket release of this magnitude" — unprecedented in federal tax administration
• Public Citizen: Called it "Trump's dirty deal" that "has crossed the line into illegality" — wrote a letter to the DOJ explaining the president's request would be illegal and puts IRS officials in legal jeopardy
• Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI): "This all seems to be an obvious abuse of power. He negotiated essentially with himself. You're his appointee, the IRS are his appointees, he's the plaintiff."
• Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA): Trump has "turned the federal government into his personal protection racket"

The bigger picture

The original settlement was sold as a deal where Trump drops a $10 billion lawsuit and a fund is created for people "weaponized" by the government. In reality, the settlement now has three components:

1. $1.776 billion in taxpayer money for a slush fund that can pay Trump's pardoned Jan. 6 allies — with no oversight
2. Permanent immunity from IRS audits for Trump, his family, and all his businesses — erasing a potential $100M+ tax bill
3. The original lawsuit dropped — a lawsuit Trump filed against his own government

Trump sued himself, settled with himself, created a fund he controls to pay his allies, and gave himself permanent immunity from the tax agency — all signed by his former personal lawyer. The president of the United States just used the Justice Department to write himself a get-out-of-taxes-free card, and the only person who had to agree was another person he appointed.