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

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. CBS News has not independently confirmed the settlement number or fund creation.

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 in order to “engage in discussions designed to resolve this matter and to avoid protracted litigation.”

In a footnote at the bottom of Monday’s filing, Trump’s lawyers argued that the motion to dismiss is “self-executing” and does not require a judge to sign off on the apparent settlement — or the motion to dismiss — effectively bypassing U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams, who was assigned the case in the Southern District of Florida. 

“No judicial analysis is appropriate,” after the dismissal, Mr. Trump’s legal team said. 

Last month, Williams ordered a hearing on whether the Constitution allowed Mr. Trump to sue his own government.

“Although President Trump avers that he is bringing this lawsuit in his personal capacity, he is the sitting president and his named adversaries are entities whose decisions are subject to his direction,” Williams wrote, adding, “it is unclear to this Court whether the Parties are sufficiently adverse to each other so as to satisfy Article III’s case or controversy requirement.”

In a court filing Monday, 93 Democratic members of Congress attempted to intervene in the case, arguing any settlement would “siphon billions of taxpayer dollars into the pockets of the President, his family, and his allies.”

Last year, Mr. Trump and his legal team asked the Justice Department to pay him about $230 million to settle two federal damage claims over investigations targeting him during both his first administration and the Biden administration, according to a source familiar with the claims. It’s unclear if those claims will also resolved by this settlement.