U.S. President Donald Trump responded to the $10 billion civil suit against the U.S. Treasury and IRS, claiming the money will go to charity.
Recently, a reporter asked the president on Air Force One whether it was “fair to ask Americans to pay” for the settlement.
In response, the 79-year-old said, “Anything I win, I’m going to give 100 percent to charity.” When the reporter pressed further, saying, “That still takes it from the American people,” the President rejected the premise, stating, “No, because they give money to charity.”
“You know, our government gives away $40 billion plus a year to charity, so… Anything I win, I’m giving 100 percent to charity. Really good, very, very good and respected charities,” he added.
🚨 JUST IN 🚨
🇺🇸 Trump on $10 Billion IRS Lawsuit: “Anything I Win, 100% Goes to Charity”
When a reporter questioned whether taxpayers should cover costs related to his legal action against the government over leaked tax returns, Trump replied firmly:
“The government donates… pic.twitter.com/Zxx2kvmw6a
— Usman Goraya (@MrHunny01) February 7, 2026
The notion that the settlement would come from the American taxpayers was confirmed during a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on Thursday, when Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent admitted that taxpayers would indeed fund it.
“It would come from Treasury,” Bessent told Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego. When Gallego further asked, “Which comes from the general fund?” Bessent confirmed, “The treasury general account.”
Gallego followed up, “So, taxpayers?” Bessent agreed, saying “yes.” Senator Gallego further added, “You’re the person who hits send on the wire transfer… You’re plundering U.S. taxpayer dollars,” added Senator Gallego.
Earlier this month, the President, along with his sons Donald and Eric as well as the Trump Organization, sued the IRS and the Treasury Department for $10 billion for “wrongly [allowing] a rogue, politically-motivated employee to leak private and confidential information about President Trump, his family, and the Trump Organisation,” to “leftist media outlets,” including The New York Times and ProPublica.
🚨 BREAKING: President Trump is suing the IRS for $10 BILLION over the alleged leak of his tax returns.
Trump has filed a civil lawsuit against the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service, demanding at least $10 billion in damages for the unauthorized release… pic.twitter.com/5c4wiCdHw8
— Digital Daisy (@DigitalDaisyX) January 30, 2026
“Defendants have caused Plaintiffs reputational and financial harm, public embarrassment, unfairly tarnished their business reputations, portrayed them in a false light, and negatively affected President Trump and the other Plaintiffs’ public standing,” the complaint noted, per NBC News.
According to the lawsuit, filed at a federal courthouse in Miami, the confidential tax information was leaked to the media by Charles Littlejohn, a former IRS contractor, who was sentenced to five years in prison in 2024 for leaking the POTUS’s tax information to the press.
The president’s legal team alleged that Littlejohn had “staff-like access to tax returns and confidential tax return information,” and blamed the IRS for it.
“The IRS wrongly allowed a rogue, politically-motivated employee to leak private and confidential information about President Trump, his family, and the Trump Organization to the New York Times, ProPublica and other left-wing news outlets, which was then illegally released to millions of people,” the president’s legal team said per CNN.
“President Trump continues to hold those who wrong America and Americans accountable,” they added.
