Trump hints at settling $10 billion lawsuit — and wants to give it away to ‘very good charities'
The president says any settlement in his IRS tax records case would be directed to charity.
Feb. 2 2026, Published 4:11 a.m. ET
President Donald Trump has an ongoing $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, but he now plans on settling it and donating the proceeds to charity. The president filed this lawsuit against the IRS on January 29 for leaking his confidential tax records in violation of federal privacy law back in 2020. Although it has been established that a former contractor was behind the leaks, the lawsuit accuses the IRS of failing to carry out its duty to safeguard confidential taxpayer information.
According to a Fox Business report, Trump spoke about donating the proceeds from his lawsuit to charity when speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One on Saturday. Acknowledging that it won’t “look good” if he pays the money himself, the President claimed the best way to settle was to make a significant contribution to established charities, saying, “We can make it a substantial amount. Nobody would care because it's going to go to numerous very good charities." Moreover, Trump said that other people have been very supportive of this idea since “nobody cares how much if it goes to a good charity," before adding, “So you settle by giving charities a lot of money and I think we're going to do something like that. We're looking to do something like that."
Trump’s dispute with the IRS started back in 2020, when his tax returns were suddenly made public despite the president choosing not to disclose them. The investigation that followed discovered that Charles "Chaz" Littlejohn, a former IRS contractor, leaked the data since he believed Trump was ‘dangerous,’ and a ‘threat to democracy,’ as per the lawsuit. Although Littlejohn pleaded guilty to stealing tax data in 2023 and was sentenced to 5 years in prison the following year, Trump sued the federal agency due to the hit his finances and reputation took following the leak. On top of it, the lawsuit claims that the illegal disclosures not only harmed Trump and his reputation, but also millions of other Americans, since the IRS violated federal privacy laws.
That said, Trump will only consider settling the case in this manner if the charities benefiting from the money are established and well-respected. In fact, he even named the American Cancer Society, a nationwide non-profit organization, as an example of charities that will be eligible to receive donations. Now, it remains to be seen whether the dispute between President Trump and the IRS will be resolved through a settlement.
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