WASHINGTON (AP) — The labor union representing Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service workers asked a judge Thursday to block a sweeping tax audit immunity agreement for President Donald Trump, arguing it would force career employees to choose between following a political order and abiding by the law.
The group joined a lawsuit filed in May that sought to block the proposed $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund," which the Trump administration
later scrapped after bipartisan pushback. The updated lawsuit, filed by legal advocacy group Democracy Forward, now also targets the audit immunity deal conferred on the president, his sons and the Trump Organization, which remains in place.
The updated lawsuit says Trump and his family are “obligated to pay taxes owed, just like every other taxpayer." But under the immunity order, IRS employees will be forced to drop ongoing audits of the president and his businesses, giving Trump "a lucrative and unconstitutional emolument," the lawsuit says.
“The integrity of our tax system depends on one fundamental principle: every taxpayer is subject to the same laws and the same standards,” Doreen Greenwald, the national president of the National Treasury Employees Union, said in a statement. “When political actors direct employees to treat certain taxpayers differently, it undermines public confidence in our tax system and places dedicated civil servants in an impossible position.”
The lawsuit asks the court to bar the Trump administration from implementing or enforcing the immunity deal, which officials have said applies only to claims open at the time of the settlement and does not protect the president from examination of future tax filings. The case alleges the agreement violates a law that bars the president from interfering with tax audits.
According to the initial outline of the audit deal, spelled out in a one-page document signed by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the U.S. was “forever barred and precluded” from examining current tax filings or prosecuting any of the plaintiffs — Trump, his sons and the Trump Organization — as well as other “related or affiliated” individuals.
It’s unclear how much Trump owes the federal government in back taxes, but the latest details of the deal could wipe away what could be more than $100 million in back taxes, according to previous New York Times and ProPublica reporting.
The Justice Department and an attorney for Trump didn't immediately respond to emails seeking comment Thursday.
The original lawsuit filed in May was focused on the “Anti-Weaponization Fund" announced as part of the settlement of Trump's lawsuit over his leaked tax returns. The fund was proposed as a way to compensate people who say they were politically targeted by the Justice Department, but it quickly drew outrage over the potential that those considered for payments could include people convicted of assaulting police at the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot.
The judge overseeing the case, U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, Virginia, blocked the administration in May from proceeding with the fund.
Days later, Blanche told Congress that the administration was no longer moving forward with the fund. Blanche on Sunday formally rescinded plans for the fund in writing amid pressure from two Republican senators who were threatening to block his confirmation as attorney general.
The updated lawsuit filed Thursday says Blanche's order on the fund doesn't go far enough to prevent the administration from moving forward with the payouts in the future and is asking the judge to permanently block officials from taking further action to create the fund.
The lawsuit notes that Trump has "made clear that he intends to keep the Fund alive, affirming his belief that the January 6 rioters and other Fund beneficiaries 'should be paid back for what they were forced to endure.'"
