February 04,2026

Wyden, Warren Demand Answers as Trump Attempts to Steal $10B From Taxpayers in IRS Lawsuit

Senators Raise Alarm as Bessent, Bondi May Be Coordinating with Trump on IRS Lawsuit and Gearing Up to Hand Him Taxpayer-Funded Settlement; Senators Question Whether They Will Defend Taxpayers in Court or Cave to Corrupt Trump Demands

Washington, D.C. – Days after Donald Trump filed a $10 billion lawsuit against the Treasury and IRS over a leak of tax records that occurred during his first term as president, Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Banking Committee Ranking Member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today demanded to know whether Treasury Secretary Bessent and Attorney General Bondi plan to defend American taxpayers against Trump’s corrupt lawsuit or betray them by enriching Trump with a taxpayer-funded settlement.

In a letter to Bessent and Bondi, the senators also raised their concern that the Treasury Department may be taking coordinated action to legitimize Trump’s corruption, having canceled contracts with Booz Allen Hamilton, the firm that employed the contractor who leaked Trump’s tax records, just days before Trump filed his suit in Miami.

“While the Internal Revenue Code permits a taxpayer to seek redress for unauthorized disclosures, Congress designed this provision to provide compensation for proven harm — not to confer $10 billion dollar windfalls to a President seeking to line his own pockets at taxpayer expense,” Senators Wyden and Warren wrote. “The leaks occurred from May 2019 through September 2020, when President Trump was in office and his hand-picked nominees, Steven Mnuchin and Charles Rettig, controlled the Treasury and IRS respectively. Trump is in essence now suing the government for his own failures during his first term. This lawsuit is a shameless and transparent act of corruption that should make any American’s head spin. We fear that instead of fighting this frivolous attempt by President Trump to profit off the failures of his own administration, cabinet officials intend not only to capitulate to Trump but coordinate with him in this brazen theft from the American people.”

The full text of the letter is available here and below.

Dear Secretary Bessent and Attorney General Bondi,

I write today with deep concerns regarding the integrity of the U.S. Treasury and the welfare of American taxpayers. As you are aware, President Trump announced on January 29, 2026, that he has sued the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the U.S. Treasury for an absurd sum of $10 billion over the improper release of his tax information during his first term in office. While the Internal Revenue Code permits a taxpayer to seek redress for unauthorized disclosures, Congress designed this provision to provide compensation for proven harm — not to confer $10 billion dollar windfalls to a President seeking to line his own pockets at taxpayer expense.

As has been well reported, Charles Littlejohn, a Booz Allen Hamilton (Booz Allen) contractor working for the IRS, pleaded guilty to improperly accessing and disclosing confidential tax information, including President Trump’s, and is currently serving out a five-year sentence for his crime. The leaks occurred from May 2019 through September 2020, when President Trump was in office and his hand-picked nominees, Steven Mnuchin and Charles Rettig, controlled the Treasury and IRS respectively. Trump is in essence now suing the government for his own failures during his first term.

This lawsuit is a shameless and transparent act of corruption that should make any American’s head spin. “Trump is simultaneously supervising the private attorneys demanding at least $10 billion in damages over the past disclosure of his tax records,” – by his own administration - “while also overseeing the senior Justice Department attorneys with authority to settle the case and authorize a payment.” As one ethics expert explained, “[t]his creates the risk of the most collusive lawsuit of all time, because it is ultimately the president suing a defendant whom he says has to do whatever he directs.”

And recent actions taken by the Treasury raise questions about whether department officials are taking coordinated action to legitimize this scheme. Just three days prior to Donald Trump filing his lawsuit, the Treasury announced that it would be canceling its contracts with Booz Allen. Treasury’s press release makes clear the cancellations occurred because Booz Allen “failed to implement adequate safeguards to protect sensitive data” and specifically cites Littlejohn’s actions. Taken in isolation this action is perhaps unremarkable, but the timing raises concerns that it is far more than a coincidence that these contract cancellations and Trump’s lawsuit occurred within days of each other. Congress must understand whether there was a coordinated effort to resurrect this years-old story in order to benefit Trump, and if so, how far the coordination went.

We have long been and always will be fierce advocates for taxpayer privacy, but these moves by the President and Treasury reek of bald corruption. To sum it up, during the President’s first term, under the watch of his own Treasury Secretary and his own IRS Commissioner, a rogue actor engaged in theft of private tax information. Now, more than half a decade later, the President sues the government he leads for $10 billion, a lawsuit “that could end with the president’s appointees approving a federal payout to him.” We fear that instead of fighting this frivolous attempt by President Trump to profit off the failures of his own administration, cabinet officials intend not only to capitulate to Trump, but coordinate with him in this brazen theft from the American people.

Congress must know what decisions lay behind these actions and whether there has been improper coordination between the Treasury and the White House to secure the President a personal check of $10 billion signed by the American taxpayer.

Given this astounding series of events and the high potential for waste, fraud, and abuse, please preserve all documents requested in this letter and respond with answers to the questions below no later than February 17, 2026.

  1. Does the Treasury Department and IRS intend to recommend the Department of Justice (DOJ) challenge President Trump, his family, and his business’s demands for the payment of damages?
  2. Does the Treasury Department and/or IRS intend to advise the DOJ to enter into a settlement agreement with President Trump, his family, and business? If so, what would be the estimated value of the settlement offer?
  3. What is the position of the Treasury Department and the Department of Justice on whether Administrator Bisignano can represent the IRS given his alleged title of Chief Executive Officer at the IRS?
  4. Have either of you or anyone else at Treasury, IRS, or DOJ had any discussions with President Trump or any of his representatives regarding the lawsuit or any potential settlement? If so, explain.
  5. If the President or White House staff directed Treasury’s or DOJ’s actions in the lawsuit (e.g., to settle), how would Treasury or DOJ respond?
  6. Provide all communications between or among Treasury, IRS, and the White House related to the disclosure of President Trump’s tax returns, or those of his family or businesses.
  7. Provide all communications between or among Treasury, IRS, and the White House related to the Treasury Department’s decision to cancel its contracts with Booz Allen.
    1. Please describe why did the Treasury Department wait until January of 2026 to take action on incidents that occurred in 2018 and 2020? Was the timing influenced by the filing or anticipated filing of the President’s lawsuit?
    2. Please provide a list of all Treasury staff or other Administration personnel involved in the decision to terminate Booz Allen’s contracts.
    3. Provide copies of all 31 contracts between Booz Allen Hamilton and the Treasury Department.
  8. Provide all communications between or among Treasury, IRS, DOJ and the White House related to President Trump’s lawsuit against the Department filed January 29, 2026.

Sincerely,

Ron Wyden

United States Senator

Elizabeth Warren

United States Senator

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