Trump said he was considering releasing his current tax returns after his legal team forged what the Justice Department described as a settlement deal tied to IRS examinations and a previously filed lawsuit over tax-return leaks. Speaking to reporters Wednesday, he said: “I may even release my current returns,” according to the Associated Press report.
Under the settlement terms described by the Justice Department, the government would be “forever barred and precluded” from pursuing or prosecuting current tax examinations involving Trump, his sons and the Trump Organization. The Justice Department also said the settlement is limited to existing audits and does not cover future examinations.
The question for Trump, and for public scrutiny of his finances, is whether he will follow through on the idea he raised this week. The AP report said Trump has made numerous past promises to release his returns before later reneging, including statements during the campaign and after he left office.
The settlement was announced in connection with Trump’s lawsuit that sought $10 billion, filed against the IRS, according to the AP report. That case, the report said, was linked to a leak of Trump’s tax returns, and the Justice Department described the settlement as the way the government resolved the dispute.
As part of the agreement, the Justice Department said it created a $1.776 billion fund to compensate Trump allies who said they were unjustly investigated and prosecuted. Democrats and government watchdogs, the AP report said, have called the arrangement “corrupt” and unconstitutional.
The AP report also recounted Trump’s earlier statements about disclosure. It said that in May 2017, Trump told an interviewer he “might” release his tax returns after leaving office, and that during his first presidential campaign he pledged to release his returns once they were not under audit.
After Trump left the White House, the AP report said that Democrats in Congress released thousands of pages of his tax returns for tax years covering 2015 to 2020. That release showed, the report said, how Trump used the tax code to lower his tax obligation and included details about foreign accounts, charitable contributions and the performance of some business ventures.
The AP report said the White House referred the outlet to Trump’s comments when asked when his returns might become available, after the Justice Department said the settlement would end any ongoing examinations of the president’s finances.