Hillary Clinton could not get to her keyboard fast enough.

Within hours of reports that the Justice Department is considering settling President Donald Trump’s $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, Clinton was on X accusing Trump of “shaking down taxpayers” and declaring that the “corruption meter is flashing red.”

What Clinton did not bother to mention, and what the left keeps hoping you will forget, is why this lawsuit exists in the first place: a former IRS contractor named Charles Littlejohn stole thousands of confidential tax returns, smuggled them out of government systems on personal devices including an iPod, and handed them to the media. He pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to five years in federal prison. The Department of Justice under Merrick Garland called it a betrayal of public trust.

That is the story. Everything else is noise.

The New York Times broke the settlement report on May 13:

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CNN followed with additional details, reporting that DOJ officials are discussing whether to settle the lawsuit in the coming days, according to two sources familiar with the talks. The report said one option under internal discussion involves whether the IRS would drop audits of President Trump, members of his family, and family businesses. However, one person familiar with the discussions stressed to CNN that this is only one of many options being considered and that no firm decisions have been made. CNN also reported it remains unclear whether a monetary settlement is part of any proposal. A spokesman for Trump’s legal team told CNN that the IRS failed to stop a rogue, politically motivated employee from leaking confidential Trump-family and Trump Organization information to the New York Times, ProPublica, and other left-wing outlets. The IRS referred comment to the DOJ, which declined to comment.

Justice Department officials are discussing whether to resolve President Trump’s IRS leak lawsuit in the coming days, according to two people described as familiar with the conversations. The case seeks at least $10 billion and was filed personally by Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization against the IRS and Treasury Department in federal court in Florida. The complaint centers on confidential tax information that was obtained by former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn and later used by major news outlets.

One settlement concept under internal review involves whether the IRS would drop audits of Trump, members of his family, and family businesses. A person familiar with the discussions cautioned that this is only one option among several and that no firm decision has been made. The report also left open whether a monetary payment is even part of the current settlement discussions. Trump’s legal team framed the case as a government failure to protect private taxpayer information after a politically motivated contractor leaked sensitive records to the press, while the IRS referred questions to DOJ and DOJ declined to comment.

So to be clear: no settlement has been reached. No money has changed hands. No audits have been formally dropped. These are reported discussions. But the mere possibility of Trump receiving any form of relief from the agency that failed to protect his family’s private information has the left in a full-blown panic.

Clinton’s reaction was predictable:

“Shake down taxpayers.” That is rich coming from Clinton, who has never had a word to say about the government contractor who raided IRS databases and selectively weaponized private financial records against a sitting president and his family. The shakedown, if we are going to use that word, happened when Littlejohn used his government access to rifle through confidential returns and funnel them to reporters.

Let’s go back to the record the left keeps trying to blur.

President Trump, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization filed this lawsuit against the IRS and Treasury Department in January 2026, seeking at least $10 billion. The suit alleges the government failed in its duty to protect confidential tax information that was stolen and leaked by Littlejohn.

The Justice Department announced on January 29, 2024 that Littlejohn was sentenced to five years in prison for disclosing thousands of tax returns without authorization. According to court documents summarized by DOJ, Littlejohn worked as an IRS contractor, accessed tax return information tied to a high-ranking government official and related individuals and entities, and used broad search parameters on an IRS database to conceal the true purpose of his queries. He then uploaded the records to a private website to evade IRS large-download and upload protocols, saved them to personal storage devices, and provided the material to a news organization between August and October 2019. That news organization published a series of articles in September 2020 using information obtained from Littlejohn. He separately stole tax information for thousands of additional wealthy individuals and provided that data to another news outlet.

Former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn received a five-year prison sentence for disclosing thousands of tax returns without authorization. The Justice Department described the conduct as an abuse of an IRS consultant role and a violation of the duty to protect sensitive taxpayer information. Court documents summarized by DOJ said Littlejohn accessed returns tied to a high-ranking government official and related individuals or entities, then used broad search parameters in an IRS database to hide the true purpose of his searches.

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Littlejohn then moved the records through a private website in order to evade IRS protocols that would have detected large downloads or uploads. The records were saved on personal storage devices, including an iPod, before being provided to a news organization between August and October 2019. That outlet later published a series of stories in September 2020 based on information obtained from Littlejohn. He also stole tax information for thousands of wealthy people and gave that separate batch of records to another news outlet.

Earlier, in October 2023, the Justice Department had announced Littlejohn’s guilty plea. Then-Attorney General Merrick Garland said Littlejohn “used his contractor role to access private tax information, steal it, disclose it publicly, break federal law, and betray public trust.” Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri described the unauthorized theft and disclosure of tax information by government employees or contractors as “a serious breach of public trust.” The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration said Americans have every right to expect integrity from people who have access to sensitive taxpayer information.

When Littlejohn pleaded guilty in October 2023, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the contractor had used his IRS role to access private tax information, steal it, disclose it publicly, break federal law, and betray public trust. Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri called the theft and disclosure of tax information by a government employee or contractor a serious breach of public trust. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration likewise emphasized that Americans have every right to expect integrity from those entrusted with sensitive taxpayer records.

The plea announcement laid out the same mechanics later cited at sentencing: Littlejohn obtained access through his IRS contractor work, used broad searches to hide his target, gathered records tied to a high-ranking government official and related entities, and took additional tax information belonging to thousands of wealthy individuals. TIGTA said it would pursue people who abuse IRS systems, steal taxpayer information, or disclose protected information illegally.

Those are not Republican talking points. Those are the words of Biden administration officials describing what happened to Donald Trump’s private financial records while they were in the custody of the IRS.

Littlejohn’s case is docketed as 1:23-cr-343 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before Judge Ana C. Reyes. He was charged on September 29, 2023, sentenced on January 29, 2024, and notified the court in February 2024 that he intended to appeal.

There is a very simple question at the center of this story that Clinton and the rest of the outrage chorus refuse to engage with: if a government contractor steals your private tax records, deliberately evades security protocols, smuggles the data out on personal devices, and hands it to reporters who publish it for the world to see, do you have a right to sue the agency that let it happen?

For any other American, the answer would be obvious. But because the victim is Donald Trump, the left wants you to believe that pursuing a legal remedy is somehow corrupt.

Whatever the DOJ ultimately decides about a settlement, the underlying facts are not in dispute. A man broke into IRS systems, stole Trump’s financial records, and got caught. He pleaded guilty. He went to prison. The Biden DOJ prosecuted him and called it what it was. Now the people whose tax records were violated are asking for accountability, and the left’s only response is to change the subject.

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