The president argued in the lawsuit that the agencies failed to prevent a former contractor from leaking his tax returns from nearly a decade ago to news outlets.
President Donald Trump is suing the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department for $10 billion, alleging that they failed to take necessary steps to prevent a former IRS employee from improperly disclosing his tax returns, and those of his sons and his company, to news outlets.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday at a federal courthouse in Miami, says Trump is suing in his personal capacity, not as president. The other plaintiffs include two of Trump’s sons — Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump — and the Trump Organization.
“Defendants have caused Plaintiffs reputational and financial harm, public embarrassment, unfairly tarnished their business reputations, portrayed them in a false light, and negatively affected President Trump, and the other Plaintiffs’ public standing,” the complaint said.
The Treasury and IRS did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday night.
A former IRS contractor, Charles Littlejohn, was sentenced to 5 years in prison in 2024 after he pleaded guilty the year before to leaking Trump’s tax records to The New York Times. The Times in 2020 published exclusive reporting that showed Trump had paid only $750 in federal income taxes in 2016 and 2017.
Trump at the time called the Times’ story “totally fake news” and “made up.” He added that the information had been “illegally obtained.”
Littlejohn admitted in federal court that he also stole tax records belonging to thousands of other wealthy people in 2019 and 2020, including billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk.
The IRS in 2024 issued a statement calling Littlejohn’s actions “unacceptable,” and added that it had sent a statement to affected taxpayers.
“It bears noting that the IRS has taken aggressive action more generally to enhance data security — to ensure, to the fullest extent feasible, that nothing like the Littlejohn incident can happen in the future,” the statement said.
Trump, who will now face off in court with his own administration, told reporters last year that he was seeking “a lot of money” in compensation from the federal government, based on past investigations into him by the Justice Department. The New York Times reported in October that Trump was seeking $230 million in damages from the DOJ. Asked about the figure at the time, Trump told reporters, “it could be.”
Trump added in October that he would be the one to approve the payout, and said “it’s awfully strange to make a decision where I’m paying myself.” He said at the time that he would give the money away to charities or “to the White House while we restore the White House.”
The White House and Trump Organization did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday night on the IRS lawsuit, or what Trump plans to do with the money if damages are awarded.
Trump Declares State of Emergency in U.S. Regarding Cuba
U.S. President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency due to a national security threat he claims originates from Cuba.
“I, Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, find that the situation in Cuba constitutes an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States… and hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat,” stated Trump’s executive order, released by the White House on January 29.
U.S. President Donald Trump also signed an executive order allowing the U.S. to impose import tariffs on goods from countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba.
On January 11, U.S. President Donald Trump warned that oil and money from Venezuela would no longer flow to Cuba following the arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by Washington, while suggesting that Cuba should reach a deal with the U.S. “before it’s too late.”
“An additional ad valorem duty may be applied to goods imported into the United States that are the product of any other country that directly or indirectly sells or supplies petroleum to Cuba,” the document specified.
The text does not specify the percentage of those taxes. The President may amend this order “if Cuba or the affected countries take significant steps to address the threat or align their actions with U.S. national security and foreign policy objectives.”
The President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel Bermudez, emphasized that the country is ready to defend itself “to the last drop of blood.”
Mr. Diaz-Canel commented that the U.S. “has no moral authority to criticize Cuba for anything.” He argued that the American side turns everything, including human lives, into business.
U.S. President Donald Trump Highlights Historic Achievements After One Year in Office
U.S. President Donald Trump presided over the first Cabinet meeting marking exactly one year in power and assessed that the results of the 12 months of work have “far exceeded expectations.”
U.S. President Donald Trump presided over the first Cabinet meeting marking a full year in power, while simultaneously opening the second year of his term with powerful messages.
At the meeting, he expressed hope that a government shutdown would not occur, stating that budget discussions are currently nearing a positive outcome.
He assessed that the Democrats also do not desire a shutdown that would paralyze the country’s machinery and expressed confidence that both sides would work in a bipartisan spirit to avoid this scenario.
The VNA correspondent in Washington cited President Trump offering his thanks to the entire Cabinet for 12 months of work with results that “far exceeded expectations.”
He affirmed that the administration is achieving unprecedented results. As evidence of this, the financial markets have recorded impressive figures: the S&P 500 index hit the 7,000 mark for the first time in history—a figure that just one year ago was considered unthinkable. The Dow Jones index has also repeatedly set records, reaching its all-time high more than 50 times. Since the election, the stock market has added approximately $9 trillion in value to savings and retirement funds.
Regarding economic growth, President Trump cited forecasts from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, showing that Q4 2025 GDP reached 5.4%. He emphasized that these indicators were achieved despite disruptions caused by the Democrats that led to the previous government shutdown.
According to him, without this obstruction, growth could have reached 7%—a figure never heard of before, about one and a half points higher than the reality which had already set records.
President Trump compared the volume of investment into the U.S. during the four-year period under the previous administration, which did not reach $1 trillion, while in just the first 11 months of the current term, total investment has exceeded $18 trillion.
He argued that the damage caused by inflation under his predecessor was immense, causing the average family to lose about $34,000. In contrast, after one year under the current administration, real income has outpaced inflation by more than $3,000, marking a victory over the “inflation nightmare” of the previous era.
Besides the economy, President Trump also devoted significant time to discussing security and social order. He announced that the homicide rate in the U.S. has dropped to the lowest level recorded in at least 125 years. He explained that the deep and widespread decline in crime stems from the administration aggressively removing dangerous elements and protecting the border at record-high security levels. For eight consecutive months, no cases of illegal foreign immigrants have been allowed into the United States.
Regarding energy, the President stated that gas prices have dropped deeply, from over $4 per gallon to around $1.85-$2.30 per gallon in many places. This has led to rapid decreases in the prices of food, airfare, and other living expenses. Specifically, egg prices, which had once quadrupled, have now dropped sharply.
A new highlight in foreign policy mentioned by President Trump is the relationship with Venezuela. He extended his thanks to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, for extraordinary efforts that have helped relations between the two countries become positive. According to Mr. Trump, the U.S. and Venezuela are coordinating in the oil and gas sector, bringing great benefits to both sides.
Notably, President Trump announced that he had just spoken with the President of Venezuela regarding the full reopening of civilian airspace. He instructed Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, along with the military, to finalize this on January 29, creating conditions for American citizens to travel safely and for Venezuelans to return home to visit relatives.
Concluding the meeting, President Trump reaffirmed that tariff revenues are reaching record levels, a portion of which has been allocated to support American farmers.
He expressed confidence that with the foundation of “the most successful first year of a term in history,” America will enter a subsequent year that is truly extraordinary and incredible./.
President Trump Ends Blockade of Venezuelan Airspace
President Trump has ordered the reopening of Venezuela’s commercial airspace, marking the latest step aimed at improving relations between Washington and Caracas.
According to Sky News, U.S. President Donald Trump held a phone call on January 29 with Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez. Following the conclusion of the call, Mr. Trump announced the restoration of air travel rights in Venezuela during a subsequent cabinet meeting.
“The security situation in Venezuela has been under strict control since Ms. Rodriguez took leadership of the interim government. We will quickly reopen the entire commercial airspace for Venezuela. Soon, American citizens will be able to travel to Venezuela safely,” Mr. Trump stated.
President Trump emphasized that he has requested U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy and Pentagon officials to proceed with steps to lift the blockade on Venezuelan airspace.
In November, President Trump declared that the airspace “above and around” Venezuela should be considered “completely closed.” At that time, it was a measure intended to exert pressure on the Maduro administration. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) subsequently required pilots to exercise caution when flying over the region due to increased military activity, while many international airlines began canceling flights to Venezuela.
Mr. Trump’s announcement marks the latest step in efforts to improve relations between Washington and Caracas following the arrest of Mr. Maduro. Previously, the U.S. also returned a seized oil tanker to Caracas earlier this month and began lifting restrictions on Venezuelan assets frozen abroad.
Trump sues IRS and Treasury Department for $10 billion over tax return leak
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 like 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.
This story has been updated with additional context and developments.
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