Federal agencies are engaging in discussions to resolve a lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump and his family over the leak of their tax information to news organizations, according to new federal court filings.
In January, Trump, his two eldest sons and the Trump family business filed a lawsuit against the IRS and the Treasury Department over the unauthorized disclosure, which took place during the first Trump administration.
The Trump legal team, in a Friday filing to Florida’s Southern District Court, requested a 90-day extension in all proceedings. The Trump legal team said in the filing that “good cause exists to grant an extension in this matter while the Parties engage in discussions designed to resolve this matter and to avoid protracted litigation.”
The extension, they wrote, would “allow the Parties to explore avenues that could narrow or resolve the issues efficiently.” The filing did not detail any possible resolution.
When contacted for comment, the White House referred The Washington Post to Trump’s personal lawyers. The Trump legal team and the Treasury Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The IRS referred questions to the Justice Department, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday afternoon.
The lawsuit, when it was filed, sought at least $10 billion in damages, claiming that the federal government did not properly safeguard the tax returns “from unauthorized inspection and public disclosure.” Trump is suing the government in a personal capacity, not as president.
Former IRS consultant Charles E. Littlejohn was sentenced in 2024 to five years in prison for stealing the tax returns of Trump and thousands of other wealthy Americans between 2018 and 2020 and providing them to ProPublica and the New York Times.
Along with the January lawsuit targeting the IRS, Trump has engaged in other legal efforts to claim a large amount of money against the government he oversees. He previously sought damages over the Justice Department’s investigations into the connection between Russia and his 2016 presidential campaign, and pursued a case over the FBI’s 2022 search of his Mar-a-Lago property over alleged mishandling of classified documents.
Earlier this week, Democratic lawmakers announced plans to introduce legislation that would, among other guardrails, bar sitting presidents and vice presidents from collecting settlement payments from the United States. The bill, called the Ban Presidential Plunder of Taxpayer Funds Act, would also prohibit spouses, children, any trust “that exists for their benefit” or any “entity they own or control” from collecting damages payments through settlements with the federal government.
Trump has suggestedthat he would donate any funds received as part of restitution in cases against the federal government to charity or “to the White House while we restore the White House.” However, critics have argued that any settlement funds would ultimately be awarded at the expense of taxpayers.
The bill is being led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York), Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) and Rep. Dave Min (D-California).
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