The lawsuit alleges that authorities failed to stop a former IRS employee from improperly releasing Trump's tax returns to the news media. The employee also allegedly released the returns of his sons and companies.
According to the lawsuit, Trump is filing the suit in his capacity as a private individual, not as president. Trump's sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, as well as the Trump Organization, are also parties to the suit.
It says they have suffered financial and reputational harm.
The department and the IRS have not yet commented on the lawsuit.
A former IRS employee was previously sentenced to five years in prison after admitting to leaking Trump's tax returns to The New York Times. The newspaper reported in 2020 that Trump paid just $750 in federal income taxes in both 2016, when he was first elected president, and 2017, when he took office.
