historic lawsuit
Mr. Trump’s lawsuit concerns events that began in 2017, when Mr. Littlejohn was rehired as a government contractor at consulting firm Booz Allen.
At the time, Trump was in the news for refusing to release his tax returns to the public, as is customary for president-elects and as he himself had promised.
Tax returns are protected by strict privacy laws, but since the 1970s every president except Trump has made them public in a show of transparency.
Amid the controversy, LittleJoin stole Trump’s tax files while working on a contract with the IRS. He then shared the document with major media outlets.
In 2020, the New York Times published a series of articles detailing how the wealthy and famous Trump had paid little to no federal income taxes over the past 15 years.
And in 2021, ProPublica relied on Littlejohn’s leaks to outline inconsistencies in how President Trump’s companies report assets to tax authorities and with financiers.
Trump’s complaint says the leaks were politically motivated and “caused significant and irreparable harm” to the president, his sons, and his business interests.
Although Mr. Littlejohn was not a government employee, Mr. Trump’s complaint alleges that the IRS is responsible for his actions.
Trump is not the first US president to sue the federal government. But previous efforts took place after the president in question left the White House.
In 1974, for example, scandal-plagued former President Richard Nixon filed a lawsuit to maintain control of his presidential papers, alleging their anticipated publication as an invasion of privacy.
But experts say that unlike Mr. Trump, Mr. Nixon was already out of office at the time and did not seek financial compensation.
Trump himself has previously filed legal complaints against the government for unfair investigations. However, these allegations were filed between President Trump’s first and second terms in 2023 and 2024, when he was a private citizen.
But now that he is back in office, Trump has the power to resolve these complaints in his favor, just as he did with the IRS lawsuit.
He is reportedly seeking $230 million in damages from the Department of Justice (DOJ), which is under his jurisdiction as well as the IRS.
