Senator Ron Wyden, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer introduce bill to prevent President Trump from profiting off lawsuit

WASHINGTON, D.C. (KTVZ) -- Oregon Senator Ron Wyden and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer introduced legislation Tuesday to prevent President Donald Trump from receiving financial benefits from a $10 billion lawsuit against the federal government. The 'Stop Presidential Embezzlement Act' targets any settlement resulting from the president's legal action against the IRS and Treasury Department.

The bill follows a lawsuit President Trump filed late last month regarding the leak of his tax returns by an outside contractor several years ago. The proposed legislation 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.

Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden criticized the president's lawsuit as a significant conflict of interest. Sen. Wyden described the legal action as an attempt to divert taxpayer funds for personal gain.

"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," Sen. Wyden said. "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."

Wyden also questioned President Trump's public statements regarding the potential donation of settlement funds. He expressed skepticism about whether the president would follow through on such a commitment.

"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," Sen. Wyden said.

Democratic Leader Schumer joined Wyden in sponsoring the measure and accused President Trump of prioritizing personal wealth over the needs of American families. Senator Schumer pledged that Senate Democrats would work to block the potential payout.

"Trump's greed knows no bounds," Sen. Schumer said. "As American families struggle to make ends meet or put food on the table, Trump tries to enrich himself at the expense of American taxpayers."

Schumer further characterized the lawsuit as an attempt to extract billions of dollars from the public.

"Suing your own government to extract billions from taxpayers is corruption, plain and simple," Sen. Schumer said. "Senate Democrats will fight to stop Trump from turning the presidency into a personal piggy bank."

The proposal is also cosponsored by Senator Ben Ray Lujan and Senator Peter Welch. The legislative text was made available following the formal introduction of the bill on Tuesday.