Addendum quietly slipped into widely criticized agreement creating a $1.7bn fund to compensate president’s allies
The justice department quietly added a provision barring the IRS from auditing Donald Trump’s tax returns on Tuesday, amending a widely criticized agreement that creates a secretive and loosely controlled $1.776bn fund to compensate allies of the president.
The addendum, signed by Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general, says the government is “forever barred” and “precluded” from examining the tax returns of Trump, his family, company and “related companies”. The agreement applies to anything filed before the agreement was reached. It was posted on the justice department website on Tuesday morning, a day after the department announced creation of the fund.
The inclusion only adds to mounting scrutiny of the wider agreement reached on Tuesday. The arrangement was announced after Trump said he was dropping a $10bn lawsuit against the IRS and other specious claims against the government in exchange for creating the compensation fund. IRS officials recommended fighting Trump’s lawsuit, the New York Times reported on Tuesday, but the agency decided to settle it anyway, raising further questions about improper interference.
Literally “Rules for thee, and not for me”.
What he has done with this is announce loudly that there would be a lot of fraud if they were to be audited/investigated. This is the move of someone who assumes they will never be out of power again.
breathtaking corruption. i know there’s no shortage of corruption in human history, but you really gotta think trump might be PEAK corruption
I think he’s got the least shame about it, since the 24 news cycle anyhow. He barely bothers to try and hide it.
Even the Bushes when they were in the oval office, did sometimes look over their shoulders as to whether or not what they did was wrong or right on some things. They somehow still had some resemblance of morals.
Trump has none. He doesn’t care of anyone or anything. It’s all “my way or go fuck yourself”.
Yeah, I generally assume all wealthy are as corrupt as this, slipping the right people the right amount of money so that they never have to actually pay for their crimes. Trump just does it out in the open because he’s not just your normal corrupt politician, he’s a showboating corrupt politician.
Guys guys! Always remember: it could have been much much worse with that unpopular Kamala! Remember that there was absolutely nothing that you could have done to prevent this. Nothing!
Kamala choosing genocide and the oligarchy over us led directly to this. Stop scapegoating and enabling them.
I voted for her but I hate the losers that defend her. The whole party basically gave us the finger. Kamala was Trump’s biggest ally, she threw the fight.
People don’t seem to know what the word defend means anymore. It’s not defending anyone to point out the obvious fact that not voting for Harris was a really stupid thing to have done and is what actually led us here. This routine of “voters aren’t responsible for their choices because I didn’t like the available choices” has grown extremely tiresome. America had a choice and enough people chose extremely poorly, so generations moving forward will pay for it. We have a right to be pissed about that poor choice.
It’s the job of political parties to get votes. They choose their platform. They thought they had an easy win and orchestrated the whole shit show.
Not voting for Harris was stupid, but the fault still lies with the party that chose Israel over you. If you keep enabling, we get the exact same energy next time. They are already trying to push kamala again FFS.
There’s such a huge overlap between users that push this and actual Zionists on Lemmy. It wasn’t the fuck genocide crowd that’s in the wrong but the party that dived into it instead of something sane like universal healthcare. What a fucking joke.
Two things can be true. It can be the democrats’ fault also. Which it clearly is. Voters have a responsibility to be informed but they aren’t. If anyone is defending anything it’s you and your friends defending that ignorance.
I’m not surprised in any way that you implied everyone is a zionist who disagrees with you. That tracks completely.
It’s first and foremost the people in charge of the party at fault for losing the election. They are the ones that need to change, not the voters.
This is why I see it as Israeli talking points. It’s basically saying “Kamala was right, it’s the voters that have to learn to stomach genocide, Israel calling the shots and the kleptocracy in general”.
The dems are supposed to be the good guys, yet they saw the low low bar that was trump and decided to aim just above it, and missed. We should be vocal about their fuck up, not giving them a pass. You are defending their actions by scapegoating them away.
not the voters.
So you’re directly saying ignorance/zealotry is acceptable.
Kamala was right, it’s the voters that have to learn to stomach genocide, Israel calling the shots and the kleptocracy in general
Absolutely zero people say or think this, and you making it up here shows you cannot be taken seriously. I do not believe you voted for Kamala. That’s just your way of trying to obtain credibility.
I’m saying the pro genocide zealotry coming from politicians is the actual problem. Being against genocide is far from ignorance.
I understand pragmatism as much as the next guy, and I did take that route, but you will not catch me dead saying the ones that drew the line at genocide are somehow in the wrong.
The party has to change and they were wrong to push the genocide. It’s as easy as that, and you are pushing against that change and encouraging their behavior.
And ya, people don’t say it outright but that’s exactly what it implies.
The US doesn’t have political parties. It has a morality test that asks you to pick between harm reduction, psychopathy, and apathy. Most people pick apathy.
Ya, it just feels like people would rather punch down than actual try to get the system to change a bit. Feels like pissing in the wind to go after voters, they aren’t the root cause.
Edit: I’m getting downvoted by zeroconnections alt accounts (fedded and robo)
What are you doing to change the system, other than complaining on a niche corner of the Internet
Not punching down and trying to hold the actual root cause responsible.
Irs: “How about we do it anyway? Seems to work for you.”
Trump isnt a king.
King, president for life, same same
Prove it
Reality would beg to differ.
No complying in advance, come on now
Oh, completely agreed. I only say it because I want to fight the actual fight. Labels be damned, the fucker is acting like one, has the power of one, has full immunity from the law and a court of sycophants.
So, he may not have the title, but he sure acts like one. So, let’s fight him like one.
Agreed. History has shown us what happens to tyrants when the people are fed up
What like theoretically?
Maybe not by name.
I’m not sure how this would affect a future administration of just changing that rule and having a new AG sign that one.
I’m not sure why exactly it bars the IRS from investigating honestly, what jurisdiction or control does Blanche and the DOJ really have over the IRS? Is this another move out of the DeSantis playbook, where you just agree and give trump the headline because memories are short and it’s not gonna be your problem soon anyways?
After this admin all norms are out the window.
All that Trump’s actions do and will have done, is say “Hey, future corrupt presidents after me, see? You CAN do anything you want and you WILL get away with it so long as you’re the president! Every and all opposition is just noise, just keep being happily corrupt and NOTHING will happen to you!”.
It has set that precedent.
All norms were out the window the moment the “grab them by the pussy” tape came out and nothing happened.
Future administration?
Your optimism that there will be a future admin is refreshing!
Doesn’t he owe like $100M? I guess that’s wiped out too?
That means Trump can finally release the tax records then?
It’s coming in two weeks. Right after he ends the pointless war he started, makes Mexico pay for the wall, and releases details of his healthcare plan.
And pays the tariff reimbursements. And the DOGE checks. And the two other stimulus packages that was supposed to happen sometime ago. Anyday, soon! VERY SOON! STOP BEING IMPATIENT!
It’s almost like he is building the guillotine himself. I’m guessing this will be followed by a pardon eventually. Mob justice will be the only choice.
Their no taksies backsies clause is a new one.
Of course lol
The money is just a distraction. The real value in this “settlement” is that it gives forever immunity for Trump, his family, and their henchmen. It literally makes them fully above all laws, for the rest of their lives.
Pretty sure that settlement wouldn’t hold under a normal administmation.
