When President Donald Trump was asked about his family’s recent lawsuit seeking damages from the IRS for the leak of his tax returns six years ago, his response was revealing: “I’m supposed to work out a settlement with myself.”
This isn’t the first time the president has sought personal payment from federal agencies. He previously demanded $230 million from the Department of Justice. Trump even acknowledged, “I’m the one that makes the decision and that decision would have to go across my desk and it’s awfully strange to make a decision where I’m paying myself.”
Paying oneself from taxpayer funds is more than “strange,” though—it’s wrong. And if such practices are normalized, the impact on our democracy could be disastrous. That’s why Common Cause last week joined former IRS officials in filing an amicus brief in this case, which is presiding in the US District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Trump, his sons, and their family business, seeks a payment of “at least” $10 billion in taxpayer money for the IRS’s alleged failure to prevent a contractor from leaking the president’s tax records. The contractor, Charles Littlejohn, has already been given the maximum sentence for this crime—five years—and is behind bars today.
Nonetheless, Trump’s lawsuit asserts he is owed damages from the government, despite obvious legal flaws in the case, as detailed in the amicus brief:
- The suit was brought years after the two-year limitation for filing such claims
- The suit is improperly filed against the government because Littlejohn was a contractor and not an employee
- The $10 billion figure is wildly higher than what is prescribed by statute, with no demonstration of actual harm
In any other circumstances, this lawsuit would be readily dismissed. But in this case, profound conflicts of interest pose doubts as to whether the DOJ will act in the public interest. And the party that would lose the most from this deal is the one not formally represented: the people, for whom the stakes are immense.
Spending that $10 billion in the public interest would triple the amount allocated for fixing US bridges in dire need of repair or could help reverse the serious cuts to Affordable Care Act subsidies. Meanwhile, if Trump’s gambit here is successful, spurious lawsuits could generate even more profit down the line, adding to the $1.4 billion the president has already made in about one year.
But this kind of self-enrichment isn’t just about the money. It’s also a show of force testing the loyalty of senior officials, the limits of the courts, and the acquiescence of Congress—and opening the door to bigger power grabs.
The president has sought to rebut criticism over this lawsuit by claiming he’ll donate the funds he collects to charity, but that’s hardly inoculating. Even if he did follow through on this promise, picking and choosing winners among cash-starved nonprofits is a sure way to chill critique while accruing more personal power.
More broadly, co-opting public funds to be used for private philanthropy undermines the basic tenets of our social contract: We pay taxes, Congress appropriates, and we can hold them accountable. Undercutting that contract deprives all of us of a voice in how our money is spent.
But this kind of self-dealing can be stopped. Common Cause’s friend-of-the-court brief argues that the court should use all its powers to compel serious deliberation and appoint independent counsel to participate in the proceedings. If the case isn’t dismissed outright, it should be paused until Trump is no longer in office to avoid conflicts of interest.
If it proceeds, senior DOJ officials tasked with executing a sweetheart deal could refuse to do so. And as part of its oversight duties, Congress could limit the DOJ’s ability to pay out damages to Trump.
Moving forward, Congress should pass laws to bar senior officials from collecting government settlements while in office, as one part of building stronger guardrails against corruption. Voters should also urge their members of Congress to act—so we can ensure taxpayer dollars are used to directly benefit the taxpayers.
The case is Trump v. Internal Revenue Service, S.D. Fla., No. 1:26-cv-20609, complaint filed 1/29/26.
This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg Industry Group, Inc., the publisher of Bloomberg Law, Bloomberg Tax, and Bloomberg Government, or its owners.
Author Information
Omar Noureldin is senior vice president of Common Cause’s policy and litigation department. Previously, he was senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Department of Justice.
Abigail Bellows is senior policy director on anti-corruption and accountability at Common Cause. Previously, she was director for anti-corruption at the National Security Council.
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