Trump family sues the IRS over unauthorized disclosure of tax returns by Charles Littlejohn
The lawsuit claims the IRS failed to protect confidential tax return data and seeks $10 billion in damages from American taxpayers for disclosures made by Charles Littlejohn, an IRS contractor, to news organizations.
Holding
Not applicable. This is a filed civil complaint. No court ruling yet.
Why It Matters
Tests how far §6103 tax return confidentiality protections extend when the breach is internal.
Raises exposure risk for the IRS when contractors misuse authorized access.
Could set damage benchmarks under §7431 for large-scale disclosure cases.
Highlights systemic data security failures, not just individual misconduct.
Key Facts
Plaintiffs include Donald J. Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization.
Defendants are the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
The complaint centers on disclosures by Charles Littlejohn.
Littlejohn accessed and copied unmasked tax return data while working as an IRS contractor.
He disclosed that information to media o…
