President Donald Trump has filed a sweeping $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Treasury Department, accusing the agencies of failing to protect his confidential tax records during his first term in office.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal court in Florida, claims that Trump’s tax returns were unlawfully accessed and disclosed due to what his legal team describes as serious security failures inside the IRS and Treasury Department.
According to the complaint, a former IRS contractor illegally obtained and shared Trump’s tax information in 2019 and 2020 with media organizations including The New York Times and ProPublica. The disclosures occurred without authorization and violated longstanding federal laws designed to protect taxpayer privacy.
Trump is joined in the lawsuit by his two eldest sons — Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump — along with The Trump Organization. The plaintiffs argue that the disclosures caused lasting reputational harm, financial damage, and unfair public scrutiny that continues to impact their business interests.
The legal filing states that federal agencies are required by law to maintain strict safeguards over sensitive taxpayer data, including employee vetting, system monitoring, and access controls. The lawsuit alleges those protections were either inadequate or improperly enforced.
The case follows years of political and legal disputes surrounding access to Trump’s tax records, which were repeatedly sought by Democrats and the media during his presidency.
Earlier this week, the Treasury Department canceled approximately $21 million in federal contracts with Booz Allen Hamilton, the former employer of the contractor responsible for the leak. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the firm failed to implement sufficient protections for confidential taxpayer information obtained through IRS contracts.
In the lawsuit, Trump’s attorneys argue that the leaked information was later used in reporting by what they describe as politically motivated outlets, contributing to what the filing calls public embarrassment and damage to Trump’s business reputation.
The former IRS contractor pleaded guilty in 2023 to unauthorized disclosure of tax return information and was sentenced in 2024 to five years in federal prison. Prosecutors said the individual unlawfully accessed and shared tax data belonging not only to Trump, but also to thousands of other high-income Americans.
One of the most widely cited media reports stemming from the leak claimed Trump paid $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and no income tax in several prior years — claims Trump has long disputed as misleading and lacking proper context.
The lawsuit states that the federal government’s failure to safeguard confidential information “caused reputational and financial harm, unfairly damaged business standing, and placed the plaintiffs in a false public light.”
The case will now proceed in federal court, where the government is expected to respond to the allegations. Legal analysts say the outcome could have broad implications for federal agency accountability and taxpayer confidentiality protections, particularly in high-profile political cases.
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