Trump Sues the IRS for $10 Billion Over Tax Return Leak and His Own Agency Will Now Decide Whether to Pay Up or Fight Him

Last year, Donald Trump filed a bogus lawsuit against the federal government demanding hundreds of millions of dollars—a suit to be settled by DOJ officials who he insists have no independence and take orders from him. It was a blatant attempt to loot the U.S. Treasury. Now he’s going bigger.

CNN has the story:

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. …

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.

It is dubious that Trump can claim damages for the actions of a contractor for releasing tax returns that have since been made public. But the decision about whether to fight this case or pay out will be made my officials who answer directly to Trump and can be ordered to send him billions regardless of the merits of the case.

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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