Wyden, Warren Question Motives on Trump IRS Lawsuit (1)

Senate Democrats want answers from the Treasury and Justice Departments over the handling of President Donald Trump’s $10 billion IRS lawsuit over illegal disclosure of his tax records.

The lawsuit, filed by Trump, his sons, and his company, puts his administration in an ethical quagmire—it must defend itself against the president who also controls agencies such as the DOJ and Treasury.

Senate Finance ranking member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and member Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), raised red flags over conflicts the suit poses in a Tuesday letter to Treasury Secretary and Acting IRS Commissioner Scott Bessent and Attorney General Pam Bondi.

“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,” they wrote.

The Democrats noted that the leak of Trump’s tax information by a former IRS contractor employed by Booz Allen Hamilton happened during the president’s first term. “Trump is in essence now suing the government for his own failures during his first term,” they wrote.

The senators seek communication on the timing of Treasury’s cancellation of contracts with the company just days before Trump’s lawsuit was filed, and want to know “whether department officials are taking coordinated action to legitimize this scheme.”

The letter also asks Bessent and Bondi to explain how Treasury or DOJ would respond if Trump, for instance, directed the agencies to settle.

The Democrats want answers to their questions no later than Feb. 17.

Michael Bloomberg was among those affected by the leaks. Bloomberg Law is operated by entities controlled by Bloomberg.