President Trump has filed a $10B lawsuit against The Treasury Department and the IRS for damages from the unauthorized leak of his tax returns by an IRS contractor employed by Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.
The complaint named Trump v. IRS, filed January 29th of this year in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, asserts that the defendants “have caused Plaintiffs 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 that Treasury and the IRS failed to safeguard and protect the plaintiffs’ confidential income tax returns and related tax information from the unauthorized inspection and public disclosure by Charles Littlejohn, an IRS contractor employed by Booz Allen.
Between 2018 and 2020, Littlejohn stole and leaked to media outlets the tax returns and return information of thousands of wealthy taxpayers, including Trump and billionaire hedge fund manager Kenneth C. Griffin. Mr. Griffin filed his own suit against the Treasury and the IRS earlier.
Littlejohn then pled guilty in October 2023 to one count of illegal disclosure but is appealing the five year prison term he received in January 2024. Citing an April 2024 order issued in Griffin’s case, Trump’s complaint states that “this Court has already held these alleged facts sufficient to support Defendants’ liability for violations of (Code) Section 6103 of the Internal Revenue Code.”
“As to Plaintiffs, the facts are even more egregious and warrant swift and sweeping relief to remedy Defendants’ breach of Plaintiffs’ rights under federal law,” the complaint says.
The lawsuit alleges that because of the defendants’ wrongful conduct, “Plaintiffs were subject to, among many others, at least eight (‘8’) separate stories in the New York Times which wrongly and specifically alleged various improprieties related to Plaintiffs’ financial records and taxpayer history.”
The lawsuit asserts that the plaintiffs are entitled to damages for each unauthorized disclosure, “including each subsequent disclosure by third parties” which it says amounts to at least $10B, or to actual damages sustained by plaintiffs and all related entities, which the complaint asserts also amounts to at least $10B. The lawsuit also seeks punitive damages as well as reasonable costs and attorney fees.
I don’t know how you can run the Treasury and sue it at the same time. We’ll see how this turns out.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d think that the President like most entrepreneurs, didn’t like our friends at the Service.
Let me leave you with this…
As you may have heard, we’re in the middle of yet another partial government shutdown. Before you begin asking if you still need to file your returns timely, allow me to present the following facts.
During this partial government shutdown, the IRS is expected to remain largely operational, particularly during the peak tax filing season, with employees instructed to continue working on their regular schedules. While non-essential services may be limited, tax return processing, electronic filing, and some support services generally continue.
1 – The IRS often operates during shutdowns using, for example, funds from the Inflation Reduction Act to keep staff working.
2 – While electronic filing is open, some services such as in-person assistance might be restricted, and tax refunds could face delays.
3 – The IRS has indicated that employees were, in some cases, exempt from furlough to ensure the tax season continued.
Historically, the agency prioritizes continuing its operations to process payments and returns. One might also ask how long it is expected that this partial shutdown will last.
Ranking GOP Members hit the Sunday morning political shows saying that this should be over by Tuesday. Frankly, when I heard that I began laughing.
They supposedly only have a one vote margin in the House. One vote is a problem because all of a sudden the most Junior Member of the House from a back water district who knows they’ll never win re-election, can be a King by making demands and holding up the entire process.
If you were that House Member and needed $20M for a bridge or a public works project that would get your entire home town working again, you’d probably make that demand. And you’d probably get exactly what you wanted no matter how many times the President called to twist your arm.
We’re may see a lot of this in the next few days. All of a sudden, Mr. Nobody can become a King.
This also tells me that if they can pass this bill to reopen the government at all, it’s going to take a lot of time. It could be another six week shutdown.
We’ll see. I’ll keep you posted.
As always, if you’re having difficulties with your accounting and tax work, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
We’re all going to get through this. Let’s get through it together.
Accounting Solutions Ltd. stands ready to complete our mission and purpose of protecting you, your family, and your business. Whether you need Payroll Services, or Accounting and Tax Work, you have but to ask. I’m here and I remain,
Sincerely yours,
Chris Amundson
President
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