Huge scandal: Trump is suing the IRS and the US Treasury and is demanding $10 billion in damages. The two agencies are under his authority
Donald Trump is suing the US Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for $10 billion over the disclosure of his tax returns to the media in 2019 and 2020.
Donald Trump PHOTO: EPA EFE
In a complaint filed in federal court in Miami, Trump, his adult sons and his company said the agencies did not take “mandatory precautions” to prevent former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn from leaking their tax returns to “leftist media”including the New York Times and ProPublica, according to theguardian.
The plaintiffs said they suffered “significant and irreparable damage” aover their reputation and financial interests and could seek punitive damages because the leaks were either intentional or the result of gross negligence.
The Thursday, Jan. 29, lawsuit puts Trump in the unusual position of suing government agencies that are part of the executive branch, which he heads.
The IRS is part of the Treasury Department. Neither agency immediately responded to requests for comment after business hours.
Scott Bessent, Treasury Secretary and Acting IRS Commissioner, is not a party to the suit. Other plaintiffs include Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and the Trump Organization.
Trump has filed numerous lawsuits in his personal capacity, often for large sums and as a result of various media reports, since winning a second term in the White House in 2024.
According to the cited publication, Trump sued the New York Times and Penguin Random House for $15 billion over articles and a book that he believed were designed to undermine his 2024 election chances.
Separately, Trump is seeking $10 billion from the Wall Street Journal for an article discussing a birthday wish for Jeffrey Epstein and $10 billion from the BBC for editing a speech that preceded the January 6 assault on the US Capitol.
Alejandro Brito, a Florida-based attorney, filed or helped file all of these lawsuits, including the lawsuit against the IRS and the Treasury Department. He did not immediately respond to requests for comment after hours.
In the complaint, Trump and the other plaintiffs said the New York Times published at least eight articles and ProPublica published at least 50 articles based on Littlejohn's disclosures.
Securing this information “caused Plaintiffs reputational and financial harm, public embarrassment, unfairly harmed their business reputation, portrayed them in a false light, and adversely affected the public image of President Trump and the other Plaintiffs,” according to the complaint.
Prosecutors charged Littlejohn in September 2023 with leaking the tax returns of Trump and thousands of other wealthy individuals to the media, alleging he was motivated by a political agenda. Littlejohn, 40, pleaded guilty the following month to unauthorized disclosure of tax return information and was sentenced in January 2024 to five years in prison.
