On February 5, 2026, Democracy Forward filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of Common Cause, Project On Government Oversight, and four former government officials in a lawsuit before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, where President Trump is seeking “at least” $10 billion from the U.S. Treasury Department. In the lawsuit, filed on January 29, 2026, President Trump, his sons Donald Jr. and Eric, and their family business, the Trump Organization, are seeking damages after Trump’s personal tax documents were leaked to the press by a third-party contractor.
The brief details how the president’s control of both sides of the case raises serious concerns about collusive litigation tactics, as well as outlining how the lawsuit is barred by several basic legal requirements, including the statute of limitations.
This case is not the first time that the president has sought direct personal payment from the federal government. On December 15, 2025, Democracy Forward filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Departments of Justice (DOJ) and the Treasury after they refused to release any records related to President Trump’s effort to obtain a $230 million taxpayer-funded payout for investigations into his own misconduct.
The four former officials represented by Democracy Forward include John Koskinen, who served as the 48th Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service; Kathryn Keneally, who served as the Assistant Attorney General for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division; Nina Olson, who served as the National Taxpayer Advocate from 2001 to 2019; and Gilbert Rothenberg, who served as the Chief of the U.S. Department of Justice, Tax Division, Appellate Section.
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The friend-of-the-court brief was filed
