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BumRushDaShow

(170,789 posts) Wed Apr 15, 2026, 04:13 PM Wednesday

Democrats seek to bar presidents from collecting settlement money from the government

Source: NBC News

April 15, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT / Updated April 15, 2026, 1:46 PM EDT

Democratic lawmakers will introduce a bill Wednesday to ban the president, vice president and their families from collecting lawsuit settlement payments from the government.

The bill, dubbed the "Ban Presidential Plunder of Taxpayer Funds Act," comes after President Donald Trump sued the IRS and the Treasury Department for $10 billion over the leak of his tax records, and those of his sons and his company, to news outlets. Trump said he would donate any money he received to charity, but the lawsuit enraged critics who argued that any money he might receive from a settlement would come from taxpayers.

Months earlier, Trump acknowledged he was seeking damages from the Justice Department, saying, "I guess they owe me a lot of money.". Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland and Rep. Dave Min of California are introducing the bill in their respective chambers.

The bill, shared with NBC News, would ban the president, the vice president, their spouses and children and any trust "that exists for their benefit" or "entity they own or control" from collecting payments as part of a settlement agreement, which parties sometimes reach in order to avoid going to court.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/democrats-bill-bar-trump-settlement-money-from-government-irs-treasury-rcna331682

Link to House Judiciary Democrats PRESS RELEASE - Raskin, Warren, Schumer, Min Introduce New Bill to Stop President, VP from Abusing Power to Steal Taxpayer Funds

Link to draft BILL (1-pager) (PDF) - https://www.warren.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/one-pager_-_ban_presidential_plunder_of_taxpayer_funds_act.pdf

Link to draft BILL (PDF) - https://democrats-judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/democrats-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/mm_01_xml.pdf

5 replies

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Highlight:

Democrats seek to bar presidents from collecting settlement money from the government (Original Post) BumRushDaShow Wednesday OP

The term "a license to steal" comes to mind... sop Wednesday #1

If IRS releases my tax records, and makes them public, at140 Wednesday #2

They need to bar Presidents from taking $400 million emolument planes too. ToxMarz Wednesday #3

This is a clear conflict of interest LetMyPeopleVote Wednesday #4

MaddowBlog-IRS signals negotiations with Trump over controversial $10 billion leak lawsuit LetMyPeopleVote Friday #5

sop

(18,901 posts)

1. The term "a license to steal" comes to mind...

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Wed Apr 15, 2026, 04:18 PM

Wednesday

at140

(6,265 posts)

2. If IRS releases my tax records, and makes them public,

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Wed Apr 15, 2026, 04:29 PM

Wednesday

It will be the best sleep medicine for anyone reading it.
I have the simplest tax return, standard personal deduction, no itemized deductions, no carry over business losses.
My only income is social security and IRA withdrawals.

ToxMarz

(2,995 posts)

3. They need to bar Presidents from taking $400 million emolument planes too.

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Wed Apr 15, 2026, 04:58 PM

Wednesday

It belongs to the Government now, and would seem easy for them (if they take congress) to ensure it stays that way.

LetMyPeopleVote

(180,692 posts)

4. This is a clear conflict of interest

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Wed Apr 15, 2026, 05:51 PM

Wednesday

trump and his administration are giving money away to assholes like Flynne, Babbitt and others

LetMyPeopleVote

(180,692 posts)

5. MaddowBlog-IRS signals negotiations with Trump over controversial $10 billion leak lawsuit

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Fri Apr 17, 2026, 06:07 PM

Friday

In a court filing, the agency said it and the president’s family are engaged in “discussions designed to resolve this matter and to avoid protracted litigation.”

Remember in February, when Trump filed a ridiculous billion lawsuit against the IRS, expecting a massive taxpayer-financed payout?

The IRS signaled in a new court filing that settlement talks are underway.
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...
— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-04-17T18:05:55.234Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/irs-signals-negotiations-with-trump-over-controversial-10-billion-leak-lawsuit

As this list grew, it was hard not to wonder whether these payouts would serve as a prelude to Donald Trump becoming the next recipient, in response to his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS.

With this in mind, Liz Dye, a columnist at Above the Law, flagged the IRS’ latest court filing in the case.

BREAKING: IRS confirms it's negotiating with Trump family to pay a "settlement" in the wildly defective lawsuit over the leak of his tax returns.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
— Liz Dye (@lizdye.bsky.social) 2026-04-17T16:39:25.149Z

The filing acknowledged that the process “remains in its early stages,” though it also noted that the agency and the president are engaged in “discussions designed to resolve this matter and to avoid protracted litigation.”

The phrasing suggested settlement talks are underway......

There’s no shortage of questions surrounding the civil case, including the fact that Trump appears to be on both sides of the litigation, suing his own administration in the hope it will hand him a giant check.

Writing for MS NOW, columnist Paul Waldman explained that the president’s litigation was “so brazen, so shameless, so stunning … that it will stand out in history even in a presidential term drowning in self-dealing.” Waldman added, “This latest act deploys Trump’s favorite financial weapon — the bogus lawsuit — but in a way no one even contemplated before.”

Shortly after his lawyers filed the case, the president told reporters that he assumed “nobody would care” if he receives a lucrative payout as part of the frivolous litigation. We may soon find out whether that was true. Watch this space.

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