Judge delays Trump's US$10 billion lawsuit against US tax agency
While Trump states "that he is bringing this lawsuit in a personal capacity, he is the sitting president and his named adversaries are entities whose decisions are subject to his direction", wrote US District Court Judge Kathleen Williams.
US President Donald Trump steps off Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida on Apr 24, 2026. (File photo: AFP/Kent Nishimura)
WASHINGTON: A US district judge on Friday (Apr 24) ordered a hearing on whether a sitting president can sue the federal government, after Donald Trump launched a US$10 billion case against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
Trump filed the lawsuit, along with his two eldest sons Eric and Donald Jr and their family's Trump organisation, against the IRS in January, seeking US$10 billion over alleged leaked tax returns he claims harmed his business.
In a four-page filing, US District Court Judge Kathleen Williams ordered lawyers in the case to appear on May 27 to address the issue.
While Trump states "that he is bringing this lawsuit in a personal capacity, he is the sitting president and his named adversaries are entities whose decisions are subject to his direction", Williams wrote, pointing to Trump's own jokes about the matter.
In their suit, the Trumps claimed the tax-collecting agency "had a duty to safeguard and protect" their "confidential tax returns".
Trump's tax returns were the focus of much speculation during his first term in office, after he broke with precedent and refused to release them as a candidate.
The tax documents were leaked to the press by Charles "Chaz" Littlejohn, a former IRS employee from May 2019 through September 2020, according to the lawsuit.
Littlejohn in 2023 pleaded guilty to releasing Trump's tax returns and is currently serving a five-year sentence.
The New York Times reported in September 2020 that Trump, who had repeatedly refused to make his tax returns public, paid only US$750 in federal income tax in 2016 and 2017, and none at all for 10 of the previous 15 years.
