Trump settles $10 billion lawsuit against IRS over leak of his tax returns

Donald Trump | MGN

President Trump and the Justice Department reached a settlement regarding the president’s $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department, according to documents filed with the court Monday.

Mr. Trump had accused the agencies of unlawfully allowing a government contractor to leak his tax returns and those of his sons and company. The lawsuit was filed in Miami federal court in January in Mr. Trump’s personal capacity, and alleged government mishandled his tax returns, leading to their improper disclosure to media outlets in 2020. Mr. Trump’s sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., and the Trump Organization are also plaintiffs in the suit.

A spokesperson for the Justice Department and Mr. Trump’s legal team did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the terms of the settlement.

Last week, ABC News was first to report that the suit was expected to be dropped in exchange for the creation of a more than $1.7 billion fund to pay settlements to allies of Mr. Trump who claim they were unlawfully targeted by the Biden administration.

In a statement to CBS News after the ABC News report was published, a spokesperson for the Trump legal team said that 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.”

In a court filing in April, both sides in the case asked for an extension on deadlines in the case as they “engage in discussions designed to resolve this matter and to avoid protracted litigation.”