Donald Trump has filed a civil claim seeking roughly $10 billion from the IRS after a former contractor leaked his tax returns. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent acknowledged any payout would be paid by taxpayers. Trump says he will donate any award, but lawmakers and legal experts have called the claim dubious and raised conflict‑of‑interest concerns. Senators Ron Wyden and Elizabeth Warren opened an investigation while Rep. Mike Thompson proposed legislation to bar presidents from profiting from suits against the government.
Trump Seeks $10 Billion From IRS — Says He’ll Donate Proceeds as Lawmakers Open Probe
During Donald Trump’s first term, a former Internal Revenue Service contractor, Charles Littlejohn, obtained and disclosed the president’s tax returns. Littlejohn was later identified, prosecuted, convicted and served time in prison.
More than five years after those disclosures, Mr. Trump has filed a civil claim against the IRS seeking roughly $10 billion, arguing that the unauthorized release of his returns entitles him to massive compensation from the federal tax agency. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told senators that any payout would ultimately be funded by American taxpayers.
What Trump Has Said
Mr. Trump has repeatedly insisted he will not personally keep any award. In an interview with NBC News, he said, "Any money that I win, I’ll give it to charity...100% to charities, charities that will be approved by government or whatever." He also described having "essentially" won a separate lawsuit related to the Mar‑a‑Lago search and suggested he expects a large payment in that matter as well.
"I have another lawsuit with the United States...Essentially, the lawsuit’s been won. I guess I won a lot of money." — Donald J. Trump
Legal and Practical Questions
Legal experts and lawmakers have raised multiple concerns. First, the $10 billion claim has been described by critics as legally dubious: the provision of the tax code that permits damages for unauthorized disclosures is generally intended to compensate proven harms, not to award multibillion‑dollar windfalls. Second, the optics of a sitting president suing his own administration to obtain taxpayer funds are politically fraught.
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 15: The sun flairs over the side of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) headquarters building on September 15, 2024, in Washington, DC. (Photo by J. David Ake/Getty Images)(J. David Ake / Getty Images)
Observers also note there is no ironclad guarantee that proceeds would be distributed independently. A presidential library or a related entity could theoretically be designated a recipient, and Mr. Trump’s past promises about donating or redirecting funds have at times drawn skepticism.
Related Claims And Congressional Response
Separately, last fall Mr. Trump said he expects the Justice Department to award him $230 million for harms he alleges resulted from searches and investigations connected to the Mar‑a‑Lago probe. Those submissions were filed as administrative claims rather than as a traditional civil complaint, which has prompted questions about why Mr. Trump continues to frame the matter as an already‑won lawsuit.
Congressional reaction was swift. Representative Mike Thompson introduced the Prevent Presidential Profiteering Act, which would bar a sitting president from profiting from lawsuits against the United States. Senators Ron Wyden and Elizabeth Warren launched an inquiry into the $10 billion IRS claim and wrote to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Attorney General Pam Bondi expressing concern that the statute was not intended to create such large awards and warning against any coordination that would result in taxpayer‑funded payouts to a president.
What To Watch
This dispute raises both legal and constitutional questions that are likely to be litigated and scrutinized in Congress. Investigations and proposed legislation are already underway; the ultimate outcomes will shape precedent for how unauthorized disclosures and presidential claims against the government are handled going forward.
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