Former President Donald Trump, his two eldest sons, and the Trump Organization have initiated a lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the U.S. Treasury Department, alleging that their confidential tax information was improperly leaked. The federal lawsuit, filed in Miami, seeks at least $10 billion in damages, as indicated in court records released Thursday.
The lawsuit is presided over by Judge Kathleen Williams, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama. Williams had previously issued a temporary injunction concerning the expansion of a federal immigrant detention facility in Florida, a ruling that was later overturned by a federal appeals court.
The civil complaint accuses the IRS and Treasury of failing to prevent the unauthorized dissemination of tax records by former IRS employee Charles “Chaz” Littlejohn in 2019 and 2020. Trump’s lawsuit extends beyond him to include his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, alongside the Trump Organization, which they currently manage.
A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team claimed that the IRS allowed a politically motivated employee to leak sensitive information to various media outlets, including The New York Times and ProPublica, which they described as left-leaning. The spokesperson asserted that this leak enabled the information to reach millions unlawfully.
This legal action coincides with the announcement from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who disclosed that he had terminated all contracts between the Treasury Department and Booz Allen Hamilton, the consulting firm connected to Littlejohn, following the incident of the stolen and leaked tax returns.
This lawsuit highlights ongoing concerns about privacy and the safeguarding of confidential tax information, reflecting the Trump family’s commitment to addressing what they view as violations of their rights.