Trump’s Lawsuit Against I.R.S. Creates ‘Enormous Conflict of Interest’

NY Times -   Federal law fiercely protects the confidentiality of Americans’ tax returns. Not only can improper disclosure of tax information carry criminal penalties, but people can also sue the government if the Internal Revenue Service mishandles their data.

Not until Thursday, though, had a sitting president filed such a suit. President Trump’s complaint, filed in federal court in Miami against the I.R.S. and the Treasury Department, created what legal experts said was the unparalleled situation of federal agencies facing a lawsuit from the head of the executive branch. Mr. Trump has demanded at least $10 billion in damages.

“It’s an enormous conflict of interest,” said Richard Painter, the chief White House ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration. “His own appointees could turn around and say: ‘Let’s give the Trump family a couple of billion. That’s a fair sell.’”

Mr. Trump’s suit accuses the I.R.S. and the Treasury of not doing enough to prevent the leak of his tax returns by Charles Littlejohn, a former I.R.S. contractor who has admitted to giving Mr. Trump’s tax returns to The New York Times. Mr. Littlejohn was sentenced to five years in prison for leaking Mr. Trump’s returns, as well as tax information about ultrawealthy Americans that Mr. Littlejohn separately provided to ProPublica.