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President Donald Trump has decided to voluntarily dismiss his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), according to a court filing on Monday (May 18). The lawsuit, which also involved his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, as well as the Trump Organization, accused the IRS and the Treasury Department of failing to prevent a former IRS employee from leaking their tax returns.
Legal experts had labeled the lawsuit "unprecedented," as it involved a sitting president seeking monetary damages for alleged harm to his personal interests from an executive agency he controls. The Trump administration faced a deadline on Wednesday (May 20) to explain whether "a case or controversy exists." The court filing did not clarify if Trump agreed to drop the lawsuit as part of a settlement.
According to NBC News, the decision to drop the lawsuit comes amid ongoing settlement talks between the Trump administration and the Justice Department. Reports from CNBC suggest that a potential settlement could involve a compensation fund for Trump’s allies who claim to have been wrongfully targeted by the Biden administration.
The lawsuit, filed in January, alleged that the IRS and Treasury Department did not protect Trump and the Trump Organization’s confidential tax information, which was leaked to the press by Charles Littlejohn, a former IRS contractor. Littlejohn has since been sentenced to five years in prison for the leak.
The Justice Department is reportedly considering settling the lawsuit, which could include provisions on dropping audits of Trump, his family, and their businesses. However, the exact terms of any settlement remain unclear.