Trump sues IRS and Treasury Department for $10 billion over tax return leak

(CNN) President Donald Trump is suing the US Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department for at least $10 billion, accusing the agency of an unauthorized leak of his tax returns during his first administration.

The suit was filed on Thursday in federal court in Florida. Trump, who filed the suit alongside his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, is suing the IRS and Treasury personally, not in his official capacity as president.

The lawsuit alleged that the government failed to protect Trump and the Trump Organization’s confidential tax information, which was leaked to the press by Charles Littlejohn, a former IRS contractor.

Littlejohn, who worked as a government contractor at Booz Allen Hamilton, illegally obtained and disclosed Trump’s tax returns to publications including the New York Times and ProPublica, the suit alleged.

CNN has reached out to the IRS, the Treasury Department and Booz Allen Hamilton for comment.

In 2024, Littlejohn was sentenced to five years in prison for disclosing thousands of tax returns without authorization – from Trump and thousands of other wealthy individuals.

Trump’s legal team alleged that the IRS is legally responsible for Littlejohn’s actions because he had “staff-like access to tax returns and confidential tax return information” and exploited longstanding security failures that the IRS had been warned about but had gone uncorrected.

“The IRS wrongly allowed a rogue, politically motivated employee to leak private and confidential information about President Trump, his family, and the Trump Organization to the New York Times, ProPublica and other left-wing news outlets, which was then illegally released to millions of people. President Trump continues to hold those who wrong America and Americans accountable,” Trump’s legal team said in a statement.

Earlier this week, the Treasury Department cut ties with Booz Allen Hamilton, Littlejohn’s former employer, saying it would cancel $21 million in federal contracts.

A statement from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the time referenced Littlejohn as the reason for the decision, saying: “Booz Allen failed to implement adequate safeguards to protect sensitive data, including the confidential taxpayer information it had access to through its contracts with the Internal Revenue Service.”

During Trump’s first term, his refusal to release his tax returns, breaking a decades-long tradition for presidential candidates, became a focal point for critics. In 2022, six years of Trump’s tax returns were made public by the House Ways and Means Committee after a legal fight over their disclosure reached the Supreme Court.

https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/29/business/trump-sues-irs-for-usd10-billion