By Matt Durr
mlive.com
(TNS)
If President Donald Trump wins his latest lawsuit, the American taxpayers appear to be on the hook to pay the bill. The revelation came Thursday during a Senate Banking Committee hearing where Treasury Secretary and Acting Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service Scott Bessent testified.
Trump filed a lawsuit last week, seeking $10 billion in damages after his tax returns were leaked to news outlets between 2018 and 2020. Trump accused the IRS of failing to stop a contractor who leaked the returns of Trump and several other high-profile people.
That contractor, Charles Littlejohn, eventually pleaded guilty to a charge of unauthorized disclosure of tax returns and return information. He was sentenced to five years in prison.
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During Thursday’s hearing, Democratic Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego questioned Bessent about how the money would be paid out if Trump wins the lawsuit.
“Where would that be cut from? Let’s say for some reason he actually wins that lawsuit, where would that $10 billion come from?” Gallego asked.
Bessent initially stammered before Gallego clarified the question, leading to this exchange:
“It would come from the Treasury,” Bessent said.
“Which comes from the general fund?” Gallego asked.
“The Treasury general account,” Bessent replied.
“So taxpayers?” Gallego asked.
“Yes,” Bessent said.
The treasury’s general account is funded through taxes paid by millions of individuals, corporations, payroll taxes, excise taxes, and more.
Gallego then asked if Trump or anyone in his office has spoken to Bessent about the lawsuit, to which the secretary said “they have not.”
Bessent also reiterated a comment Trump made in an interview with NBC News this week regarding the lawsuit. In that interview, the president claimed that if he wins, he will donate the $10 billion to charity.
“Any money that I win, I’ll give it to charity, 100 percent to charity, charities that will be approved by government or whatever,” Trump said.
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Trump Says He Will Donate Any Proceeds From $10B IRS Lawsuit
During Thursday’s hearing, Bessent also confirmed that any deal made with Trump regarding the lawsuit will come from the Department of Justice and not the treasury itself as the DOJ represents the treasury in legal matters.
Photo credit: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who is also serving as acting commissioner of the IRS, testified before the House Financial Services Committee on Feb. 4, 2026. He testified before the Senate Banking Committee on Feb. 5.
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©2026 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit mlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.
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