Democratic lawmakers are demanding new answers from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and IRS CEO Frank Bisignano over President Donald Trump's settlement with the IRS and the creation of the "Anti-Weaponization Fund," warning that the deal could turn taxpayer money into a secretive compensation system for the president's political allies.
In a letter sent late Thursday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, and Sen. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, asked Treasury and IRS officials to explain their role in the settlement, which created the nearly $1.8 billion fund for people who claim they were wrongly targeted by the Biden administration.
The fund stems from Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS over the leaking of his tax information. The settlement also includes an addendum ending existing IRS audits of Trump, his family, and their businesses. "This agreement appears to be a brazen scheme to corruptly dole out taxpayer money to President Trump's allies and violent insurrectionists," Warren and Wyden wrote, according to ABC News. They also warned that the deal provides "no disclosure of recipients."
Their letter follows a separate demand from Reps. Jamie Raskin and Richard Neal, who asked Bessent, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, and Bisignano to preserve records and answer questions about the negotiations, the fund's structure, tax treatment of payments, and safeguards against fraud.
Raskin and Neal called the arrangement "one of the most brazen acts of public corruption and self-dealing in American history." They requested responses by May 27, before Bessent's expected appearance before the House Ways and Means Committee in early June.
The controversy intensified after Reuters reported that Blanche told lawmakers he could not commit to barring payouts to Trump donors or people involved in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. The outlet also reported that a document signed by Blanche said the IRS is "forever barred" from pursuing related investigations into Trump or his relatives tied to tax returns filed before the agreement.
Democrats say the agreement raises extraordinary conflict-of-interest questions because Trump sued an agency inside the government he now leads. "Indeed, there appears to be no binding limitation that would prevent the President and his family from dipping into the settlement fund for as much money as they want," Warren and Wyden wrote.
The DOJ has said the fund would be handled by a five-member commission, while ABC News reported that Trump would not be allowed to receive money directly. But Democrats argue the restrictions are too vague and could still benefit people close to him.
