Trump dismisses IRS lawsuit ahead of court jurisdiction deadline
President Donald Trump, his two eldest sons, and the Trump Organization dropped a $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the U.S. Treasury Department. Court filings submitted Monday showed that the President, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization dismissed the case "with prejudice," meaning the lawsuit cannot be refiled.
The dismissal notice was filed just two days before a deadline imposed by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams for the Justice Department and Trump's legal team to clarify whether the lawsuit presented a valid legal dispute sufficient for the court to exercise jurisdiction, CNBC reported.
The lawsuit, filed in January in a Miami federal court, accused the IRS and Treasury Department of failing to safeguard highly confidential tax information that was leaked to news organizations by former IRS contractor Charles "Chaz" Littlejohn. Littlejohn pleaded guilty to unlawfully disclosing tax return information and is currently serving a federal prison sentence.
The President, his sons, and the Trump Organization sought at least $10 billion in damages, inviting strong criticism from opposition lawmakers, who accused Trump of trying to profit from taxpayers' money. The President's lawyers, however, argued that the leak was "politically motivated" and caused severe reputational and financial harm to the President and his family.
You cannot sue yourself, settle with yourself, and then write yourself a check from the Treasury. Donald Trump is trying to do exactly that.
— Rep. Mike Levin (@RepMikeLevin) May 17, 2026
Welcome to Episode 15 of the Corruption Chronicles.
Trump is expected to drop his lawsuit against his own IRS for $10 billion over… pic.twitter.com/MWMtYDGtEh
"The IRS wrongly allowed a rogue, politically motivated employee to leak private and confidential information about President Trump, his family, and the Trump Organization," a spokesperson for Trump's legal team said at the time the lawsuit was filed, according to CNBC.
Prosecutors said Littlejohn leaked Trump's tax returns to The New York Times and also disclosed tax records involving thousands of wealthy Americans to investigative outlet ProPublica. Following the leaks, a New York Times investigation reported that Trump paid little or no federal income taxes in several years. ProPublica also published reports citing inconsistencies in financial documents connected to Trump’s business empire.
