Donald Trump and his two sons have launched a monumental legal battle against the United States government, filing a lawsuit that seeks a staggering $10 billion (approximately £7.25 billion) in damages. The former president, along with Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and the Trump Organisation, has taken the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Treasury Department to court, accusing them of failing to prevent the unlawful disclosure of their confidential tax information.
Allegations of Government Failure
The complaint, lodged in Miami federal court, alleges that both agencies breached their legal duty to safeguard sensitive taxpayer data. According to the filing, this failure directly enabled a former IRS contractor to leak confidential business and personal tax information to the media, causing what the Trumps describe as significant reputational and financial harm.
The lawsuit states: "The IRS and Treasury Department had a duty to safeguard and protect Plaintiffs' confidential tax returns and related tax return information from such unauthorised inspection and public disclosure. They failed to take such mandatory precautions."
The Source of the Leaks
The disclosures have been traced to Charles "Chaz" Littlejohn, a former IRS contractor who had access to sensitive taxpayer data. Littlejohn pleaded guilty in 2023 to stealing tax information belonging to Trump and thousands of other wealthy Americans, receiving a five-year prison sentence in 2024.
According to the Trump family's legal filing, Littlejohn "weaponised his access to unmasked taxpayer data to further his own personal, political agenda, believing that he was above the law." The lawsuit further alleges that his actions were politically motivated, driven by his belief that Trump represented a "dangerous" threat to democracy.
Political Context and Broken Promises
The legal action unfolds against a backdrop of Trump's repeated, unfulfilled promises to release his tax returns during presidential campaigns. In every election he contested - 2016, 2020, and 2024 - Trump vowed to make his tax information public but reneged each time, citing ongoing audits as justification.
This stance broke with a tradition followed by presidential candidates for nearly half a century, creating significant public interest in his financial affairs. The lawsuit specifically references high-profile media reports that emerged during and after Trump's first term, including a detailed New York Times investigation published weeks before the 2020 election.
Media Revelations and Their Impact
The New York Times report revealed that Trump paid just $750 (£545) in federal income taxes in the year he won the presidency and paid no income tax at all in ten of the previous fifteen years. Subsequent reporting by ProPublica also drew on leaked IRS data, creating what the Trumps describe as a false and damaging public portrayal.
The complaint argues that these disclosures caused "reputational and financial harm, public embarrassment, unfairly tarnished their business reputations, portrayed them in a false light, and negatively affected President Trump, and the other Plaintiffs' public standing."
Taxpayer-Funded Compensation Sought
In a controversial aspect of the case, the Trumps expect US taxpayers to compensate them if the lawsuit proves successful. The $10 billion damages claim represents one of the largest ever sought against government agencies in such circumstances, raising questions about liability and accountability within federal institutions.
Trump had stepped down from his role at the Trump Organisation and hundreds of affiliated entities in 2017, shortly before taking office for his first term, transferring management responsibilities to his sons. This corporate restructuring adds complexity to the claims about business reputation damage.
Legal Precedents and Government Response
The case raises significant questions about government agencies' responsibilities in protecting sensitive taxpayer information and the legal recourse available when such protections fail. Neither the Treasury Department nor the IRS immediately responded to requests for comment about the lawsuit, leaving their defence strategy unclear at this early stage.
As the legal proceedings develop, this case promises to examine not only the specific allegations against government agencies but also broader issues of political motivation in leaks, the protection of confidential information, and the substantial financial implications of data security failures at the highest levels of government.
