Trump recently sued IRS and Treasury for $10 billion over the leak of his tax returns during his first term
New bill would impose a 100% tax on any settlement
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, along with Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) this week introduced the Stop Presidential Embezzlement Act, legislation that would block any financial benefit to President Donald Trump resulting from his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and U.S. Treasury Department. President Trump sued late last month over the leak of his tax returns several years ago by an outside contractor.
The Stop Presidential Embezzlement Act would impose a 100% tax on any settlement a president, vice president, cabinet member, or member of Congress receives from the government as a result of a lawsuit filed while in office.
“President Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS is corruption in its simplest form. While hardworking Americans struggle to make ends meet, the President is trying to satisfy his ego by lining his pockets with taxpayer dollars–that’s the kind of greed we’re up against,” said Senator Welch. “Congress must stop President Trump’s rampant abuse of power to protect taxpayers and rebuild trust in our democratic institutions.”
“Saying that Trump’s lawsuit against his own government creates a conflict of interest does not begin to describe the depth of corruption behind what he’s doing,” said Senator Wyden. “At a time when so many American families are struggling to get by, it’s a shameful abuse of office for Trump to put himself in line to pocket billions of taxpayer dollars. The only reason Trump is talking about donating this money is because even he realizes what he’s doing is indefensible with the public, and given that he’s a lifelong cheat and conman, there’s no reason to trust he’d even follow through with the donation anyway. Odds are he’d find a way to profit from any settlement or throw it into some vanity project like his fancy ballroom, so Congress needs to shut it down immediately.”
“Donald Trump’s greed knows no bounds,” said Leader Schumer. “As American families struggle to make ends meet or put food on the table, Donald Trump tries to enrich himself at the expense of American taxpayers. Suing your own government to extract billions from taxpayers is corruption, plain and simple. Senate Democrats will fight to stop Trump from turning the presidency into a personal piggy bank.”
Read and download the full text of the bill.
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