Trump and his eldest sons file $10B lawsuit against IRS, Treasury Department over leaked tax records
President Trump, along with his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, have filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Treasury Department. The lawsuit alleges that the federal agencies are responsible for leaking their confidential tax information, causing reputational and financial harm to the plaintiffs.
The Trump Organization, the family’s business, is also listed as a plaintiff in the lawsuit filed in a Miami federal court. The complaint states that the defendants’ actions have unfairly tarnished their business reputations, portrayed them in a false light, and negatively affected their public standing.
The lawsuit comes in the aftermath of former IRS contractor Charles “Chaz” Littlejohn being convicted of leaking Trump’s tax returns to the New York Times and ProPublica. Littlejohn pleaded guilty to one count of disclosure of tax return information and is currently serving a five-year prison sentence.
In a deposition, Littlejohn reportedly admitted to disclosing Trump’s tax information, including all businesses he owned, to ProPublica. The lawsuit claims that the IRS allowed a rogue employee to leak private and confidential information about President Trump and his family to left-wing news outlets, resulting in false reports of fraud in the president’s tax returns.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently cancelled over $21 million in contracts with Booz Allen Hamilton, the consulting firm that employed Littlejohn. Bessent cited the firm’s failure to implement adequate safeguards to protect sensitive data, including confidential taxpayer information.
This lawsuit marks the second time in his second term that President Trump has sought damages from the federal government. In a previous instance, he demanded up to $230 million from the Justice Department to resolve complaints of being improperly targeted by the FBI.
The president expressed his intention to use any financial settlement received from the government for charitable purposes or to benefit the White House. The legal battle between the Trump family and the federal agencies continues, highlighting the ongoing disputes over the handling of confidential information and privacy rights.
