US President Donald Trump has escalated his campaign against left-leaning philanthropist George Soros, directing federal agencies to investigate what he called “left-wing terrorism” and “political violence” across the United States. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Treasury Department is preparing to overhaul the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) criminal investigative division to target major Democratic donors including Soros and his Open Society Foundations (OSF).The move is reportedly being spearheaded by Gary Shapley, a senior adviser to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who has been tasked with replacing top IRS officials and focusing on “financial networks” linked to political unrest. “We are operationalising this here at Treasury,” Bessent said in a recent interview, confirming that work had begun on compiling lists of groups and individuals for review.The Washington Post earlier reported that Trump has privately urged the Justice Department to consider bringing racketeering charges against Soros and his son Alex under the federal RICO statute typically used to combat organised crime. The memo cited a report from the conservative Capital Research Center, which accused Soros-funded organisations of backing groups linked to violent protests, including the Sunrise Movement.
Soros foundation braces for IRS inquiry
The Open Society Foundations, founded by Soros and now run by his son Alex, has dismissed Trump’s claims as “outrageous and false.” In a statement shared with Forbes, the organisation said: “Our work is dedicated to strengthening democracy and upholding constitutional freedoms.” A spokesperson added that OSF would “continue to operate within the bounds of the law” and would not “surrender its constitutional rights to free speech or due process.”According to The Washington Post, lawyers for OSF are already preparing briefs in anticipation of an IRS inquiry, while progressive groups have begun warning Capitol Hill that the administration could use financial probes to pressure banks into freezing the accounts of prominent Democratic donors. “These accusations are politically motivated attacks on civil society meant to silence speech the administration disagrees with,” OSF said in another statement.Trump, however, remains defiant. In a post on Truth Social, he wrote: “George Soros, and his wonderful Radical Left son, should be charged with RICO because of their support of violent protests and much more. We’re not going to allow these lunatics to rip apart America any more.”
What’s next
While US law prohibits the president or senior administration officials from ordering IRS audits or investigations into specific individuals, Trump’s broader strategy involves empowering federal agencies including the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Treasury Department to “identify and disrupt” funding networks that he claims support political violence. Earlier this year, Senator Ted Cruz introduced the Stop Funders Act, which would authorise the Justice Department to prosecute non-profits accused of supporting violent demonstrations.The campaign against Soros marks a significant escalation in Trump’s long-standing feud with the billionaire, who has been a frequent target of right-wing conspiracy theories.