Lawyers for US President Donald Trump have filed a motion asking a federal court to pause his $10bn lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for 90 days to allow settlement negotiations with the Department of Justice. The suit, filed in January, alleges that Trump, his businesses, and his sons suffered serious harm after a contractor named Charles Littlejohn stole and leaked Trump's tax returns to media outlets, leading to damaging coverage; Littlejohn was sentenced to five years in prison in 2024. Critics and legal experts warn the move is deeply problematic because Trump, as president, effectively controls both sides of the negotiation — the plaintiff and the executive-branch agencies he would be settling with — raising concerns about collusion, conflicts of interest, and a potential violation of the Constitution's Emoluments Clause.