The Department of Justice is considering settling Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS, which could send taxpayer money directly to the president’s pockets, according to a new report.
Trump sued the IRS and the Treasury Department for $10 billion in January, accusing the agencies of failing to prevent a leak of the president’s tax information during his first term.
The DOJ is now holding internal discussions about potentially settling the case, and what that would look like, The New York Times reported Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
One option that the DOJ and White House officials are weighing is the IRS potentially ending any audits of Trump, his family members or his businesses, according to The NYT.
“President Trump continues to hold those who wrong America and Americans accountable,” a spokesperson for Trump’s personal lawyers in the case told the publication.
The Independent has reached out to the DOJ, the White House, the IRS and the Trump Organization for comment.
Trump previously told NBC News that he’d donate “100 percent” of the money from a $10 billion settlement to charity if that deal were reached.
Former IRS contractor Charles Edward Littlejohn providedThe NYT and ProPublica with stolen confidential tax information from Trump and his luxury real estate company, the Trump Organization, between 2018 and 2020.
The NYT reported that Trump paid little or no income tax for years before 2020. ProPublica published inconsistencies in the president’s records as well.
Littlejohn, who worked for defense tech firm Booz Allen Hamilton, was sentenced in 2024 to five years in prison after pleading guilty to the leak.
The tax record leak caused “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 lawsuit alleges.
The reported talks of a settlement in the case come amid a looming court deadline.
The judge in the case has ordered Trump’s personal lawyers and the DOJ, which represents the IRS, to submit briefs by May 20 explaining whether they are in conflict, according to The NYT.
This is a novel case given that Trump oversees the IRS, and two parties in a lawsuit must be on opposite sides.
