Treasury Secretary Evades Questions on Trump IRS Settlement at Senate Hearing
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent cited ongoing litigation to avoid answering Senate questions about Trump’s IRS settlement and potential audit immunity for the president’s businesses.
WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declined to answer questions about President Donald Trump’s IRS settlement during a budget oversight hearing Wednesday, citing ongoing litigation when pressed about whether the president and his businesses would receive immunity from future tax enforcement.
The hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance focused on the Treasury Department’s budget request for fiscal 2027, but lawmakers repeatedly questioned Bessent about the controversial settlement that resolved Trump’s multibillion-dollar lawsuit against the IRS for the 2019 leak of his tax returns.
Settlement Questions Deflected
Committee Chair Mike Crapo of Idaho attempted to give Bessent an opportunity to clarify the Treasury’s role in the settlement. “What can you share with us about Treasury and the IRS role in the settlement agreement, specifically since IRS CEO Frank Bisignano signed the settlement agreement?” Crapo asked.
Bessent responded that Treasury was represented in the case by the Department of Justice and directed further questions to “acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.” The treasury secretary’s appearance came one day after Blanche announced the Trump administration’s “anti-weaponization” fund was dead.
Democratic Criticism Intensifies
Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the committee’s top Democrat, criticized Bessent during opening remarks, saying he “owes the committee an explanation of what the Treasury knows about the dirty settlement.”
“That’s because his department was involved from beginning to end,” Wyden added. “Treasury was a defendant and a negotiator in the lawsuit.”
Wyden later pressed for specifics about the settlement’s scope. “Does the IRS audit immunity given to Trump, his family, and his businesses still stand? I’d like a yes-or-no answer to that,” the Oregon senator said. “This immunity deal is the biggest scam against the taxpayer in American history.”
Ongoing Legal Proceedings
Throughout the hearing, Bessent repeatedly invoked “ongoing litigation” as the reason for his inability to provide detailed answers about the settlement terms. The agreement resolved Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over the unauthorized disclosure of his tax information seven years ago.
The settlement has drawn scrutiny from Democratic lawmakers who question whether it provides the Trump Organization and the president’s family members with protection from future tax audits. Republicans have defended the agreement as necessary to address what they characterize as weaponization of federal agencies.
The Treasury Department’s involvement in both defending against the lawsuit and negotiating the settlement has raised questions about potential conflicts of interest in the resolution of the case.
