Donald Trump has filed a $10bn lawsuit against the US Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) over the leak of his tax returns to the media in 2019 and 2020. The complaint, lodged in Miami federal court, accuses the agencies of failing to take mandatory precautions to prevent former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn from disclosing the returns to what it describes as “leftist media outlets”, including the New York Times and ProPublica.
The plaintiffs, which include Trump, his adult sons Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization, claim they suffered “significant and irreparable harm” to their reputations and financial interests. They may also seek punitive damages, arguing the leaks were either willful or resulted from gross negligence. The lawsuit puts Trump in the unusual position of suing government agencies that are part of the executive branch he leads.
Neither the IRS nor the Treasury Department immediately responded to requests for comment. Scott Bessent, the Treasury Secretary and acting IRS commissioner, is not named as a defendant. The complaint states that the New York Times published at least eight articles, and ProPublica at least 50, based on Littlejohn’s disclosures, causing “public embarrassment” and unfairly tarnishing the plaintiffs’ business reputations.
Littlejohn, 40, was charged in September 2023 with leaking tax records of Trump and thousands of other wealthy Americans. He pleaded guilty to unauthorised disclosure of income tax return information and was sentenced to five years in prison in January 2024. This is the latest in a series of high-value lawsuits filed by Trump, including claims against the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the BBC.
