The Trump family filed the lawsuit in Miami state court. According to documents released on 29/1, the plaintiffs' confidential tax information was leaked, and they are seeking at least 10 billion USD in damages. The lawsuit alleges that the IRS and the U.S. Department of the Treasury failed to adequately prevent former IRS employee Charles "Chaz" Littlejohn from leaking tax records from the 2019-2020 period.
A spokesperson for Mr. Trump's legal team told CNBC that the IRS allowed a rogue, politically motivated employee to leak private and confidential information concerning the President, his family, and the Trump Organization to The New York Times, ProPublica, and other left-leaning media outlets. This information was then illegally disseminated to millions of people.
"Mr. Trump wants to hold those who harm America and its people accountable", the legal team's representative stated.
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U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on 17/11/2025. Photo: AFP |
U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House on 17/11/2025. Photo: AFP
The lawsuit was filed three days after U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent announced he had canceled all contracts between the department and consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton. Littlejohn, an employee of the company, stole and leaked the confidential tax returns.
Littlejohn (40 years old) is currently serving a five-year prison sentence after pleading guilty in 10/2023 to charges of leaking tax return information. He admitted to leaking Mr. Trump's tax records to The New York Times and also disclosing the tax records of wealthy individuals to ProPublica.
The Trump family's lawsuit states that in his 2024 testimony, Littlejohn admitted to disclosing to ProPublica "information about Mr. Trump, including all businesses he once owned". Subsequent articles by ProPublica claiming Mr. Trump's tax records "showed signs of fraud" were false.
According to the lawsuit, the defendants harmed the plaintiffs' reputation and finances, affecting their public image and business credibility. It also negatively impacted Mr. Trump's standing and that of the other plaintiffs.
A sitting president suing his own administration is almost unprecedented. The enormous requested damages also raise questions about potential conflicts of interest.
Mr. Trump has taken similar actions in the past. In 10/2025, The New York Times reported that he had sought 230 million USD in compensation from the U.S. Department of Justice related to previous investigations against him. Last week, he also filed a lawsuit against JPMorgan Chase bank and CEO Jamie Dimon, seeking 5 billion USD, for closing several of his accounts after the riot at the U.S. Capitol building in 1/2021.
By Ha Thu (based on CNBC, Reuters)
