The Justice Department and former President Trump have reached a settlement concerning his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department. Court documents filed on Monday provided details of this agreement.
Trump brought the lawsuit in January in Miami’s federal court, claiming the IRS and Treasury had unlawfully allowed a government contractor to leak his tax returns. These leaked returns included information about Trump, his sons Eric and Donald Jr., and the Trump Organization. Media outlets had allegedly received these documents improperly in 2020.
The lawsuit included Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., along with the Trump Organization, as plaintiffs. While specifics of the settlement remain unclear, neither the Justice Department nor Trump’s legal team has commented on its terms.
Reports indicate that the suit might be dropped in return for a $1.7 billion fund. This fund would compensate Trump’s allies who believe they were targeted unlawfully by the Biden administration. A Trump legal team spokesperson accused the IRS of permitting a politically-driven employee to leak confidential information to news outlets, including the New York Times and ProPublica. These leaks reportedly led to the illegal dissemination of the information to millions.
In an April court filing, both parties requested extensions on court deadlines to negotiate and potentially avoid prolonged litigation.