Trump Sues His Own IRS for $10 Billion for Leaking His Tax Returns That He Should Have Himself Disclosed

Donald Trump has filed multiple personal lawsuits against the U.S. government seeking massive payouts for supposed damages—from a government whose lawyers take orders from him. The biggest of these suits would be easy for the government to fight, unless it chooses to settle it with a massive payout of your tax dollars to Trump and his family.

It looks like this is exactly what Trump’s minions are planning to do.

The Washington Post reports:

Federal agencies are engaging in discussions to resolve a lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump and his family over the leak of their tax information to news organizations, according to new federal court filings. …

The lawsuit, when it was filed, sought at least $10 billion in damages, claiming that the federal government did not properly safeguard the tax returns “from unauthorized inspection and public disclosure.” Trump is suing the government in a personal capacity, not as president. …

Along with the January lawsuit targeting the IRS, Trump has engaged in other legal efforts to claim a large amount of money against the government he oversees. He previously sought damages over the Justice Department’s investigations into the connection between Russia and his 2016 presidential campaign, and pursued a case over the FBI’s 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago property over alleged mishandling of classified documents.

Earlier this week, Democratic lawmakers announced plans to introduce legislation that would, among other guardrails, bar sitting presidents and vice presidents from collecting settlement payments from the United States. The bill, called the Ban Presidential Plunder of Taxpayer Funds Act, would also prohibit spouses, children, any trust “that exists for their benefit” or any “entity they own or control” from collecting damages payments through settlements with the federal government.

Filing a lawsuit as a personal plaintiff, then ordering its settlement from a defendant in Trump’s official control, is just a quasi-legal way of looting the U.S. Treasury for the benefit of America’s ruling family. What makes it possible is Trump’s gutting of any independence in the Justice Department and other federal agencies—and the compliance (so far) of Congress.

The Executive Watch is a project of the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism, and its flagship publication The UnPopulist, to track in an ongoing way the abuses of the power of the American presidency. It sorts these abuses into five categories: Personal Grift, Political Corruption, Presidential Retribution, Power Consolidation, and Policy Illegality. Click the category of interest to get an overview of all the abuses under it.

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