Trump $10B IRS lawsuit questioned
- U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ordered President Donald Trump and the Justice Department to explain why his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury can stay in court. - Williams denied a 90-day pause for settlement talks and said Trump, as sitting president, may not be “sufficiently adverse” to agencies whose decisions are subject to his direction. - The case tests whether a president can pursue damages from agencies he oversees after suing over leaked tax returns from 2019 and 2020. (abcnews.com)
A federal judge in Miami is questioning whether President Donald Trump can keep pursuing a $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service and Treasury Department that he oversees. (abcnews.com) (politico.com) U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams said in a Friday order that Trump and the agencies may not be “sufficiently adverse” for a federal court to hear the case. She gave Trump’s private lawyers and Justice Department lawyers until May 20 to respond. (abcnews.com) (bloomberg.com) Williams also denied a joint request to put the case on hold for 90 days while the sides explored a settlement. She set a hearing for May 27 in the Southern District of Florida. (abcnews.com) (news.bloombergtax.com) Trump sued the IRS and Treasury earlier this year in Miami federal court with Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and DJT Holdings LLC. The complaint seeks at least $10 billion over disclosures of his tax information to The New York Times. (abcnews.com) (usnews.com) The suit traces back to Charles Littlejohn, a former Internal Revenue Service contractor who admitted stealing tax return data and leaking it to news organizations. He was sentenced in January 2024 to five years in prison. (usnews.com) Williams’ order turns on a basic constitutional rule: federal courts decide real disputes between opposing parties, not internal executive-branch fights. Her order noted that Trump says he is suing in his personal capacity, but he is still the sitting president. (politico.com) (abcnews.com) That creates an unusual posture for the Justice Department, which represents the IRS and Treasury while also serving under a president who is the plaintiff. Reuters reported last week that both sides had told the court they were discussing a possible resolution. (usnews.com) (abcnews.com) If Williams finds there is no genuine adversarial dispute, she could dismiss the case without reaching Trump’s demand for damages. The next test comes in the written filings due May 20 and the hearing scheduled for May 27. (bloomberg.com) (news.bloombergtax.com)
