Cortez Masto Presses Treasury on IRS Audit Shield for 405,427 Leak Victims
Updated
Updated · ms.now · Jun 4
Cortez Masto Presses Treasury on IRS Audit Shield for 405,427 Leak Victims
3 articles · Updated · ms.now · Jun 4
Summary
Catherine Cortez Masto asked Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent whether the roughly 405,427 taxpayers affected by the IRS leak would get the same audit immunity granted to Trump, his family and related businesses.
Bessent did not answer directly at the Senate Finance Committee hearing, saying the Justice Department was handling the matter and citing ongoing litigation.
The question targets a DOJ settlement unveiled after Trump dropped his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS; a separate $1.766 billion compensation fund appears to have been shelved, but the audit shield remains.
Republicans have defended compensation by pointing to the leak by former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn, who was convicted and imprisoned, yet senators are now asking why the other 405,426 victims received no comparable relief.
The scrutiny is widening: Jack Reed raised a similar question two weeks ago, and Linda Sánchez later confronted Bessent in the House over the same settlement ending Trump's tax audits.