The U.S. Department of Justice has blocked federal tax authorities from auditing previously filed returns of Donald Trump, his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, and the Trump Organization — an unprecedented move in American history, reports The Financial Times.

A one-page DOJ document states that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is permanently stripped of the right to initiate or continue any tax audits against the named individuals and the company.

“The United States REFUSES ALL CLAIMS and FOREVER RELEASES each plaintiff from any and all tax claims,” the document reads.

A Justice Department spokesperson clarified that the restriction applies solely to ongoing audits, adding that it prevents the reassertion of previously raised claims.

The decision follows the settlement of Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, filed in January 2025, after a leak of his tax documents to U.S. media in 2019–2020 by a former IRS contractor. Under the settlement, the U.S. government also established a $1.8 billion fund to compensate potential victims of alleged “political persecution” under prior administrations. Trump stated that he was not involved in creating the fund and knows very little about it.

Former IRS commissioner Danny Werfel noted that there is no precedent for the IRS agreeing to permanently forego auditing a specific individual’s previously filed returns: “Society expects uniform rules for everyone — whether you are president or an ordinary citizen.”