Hundreds of lawsuits have been filed against the United States government since Donald Trump returned to the presidency.
One, however, had a surprising plaintiff: Trump himself.
Before January 29, no sitting president had ever sued his own government in court. Now, advocates and legal experts are faced with a thorny question: Can the lawsuit be stopped?
A court date has not been set so far, but experts agree that, for better or worse, the government will seek to bring the complaint to a speedy conclusion.
At the heart of the case is Trump's contention that the federal government should be held liable for the leak of his federal tax returns during his first term as president.
The man responsible, Charles “Chaz” Littlejohn, is already behind bars. Still, Trump wants the Treasury Department and one of its agencies, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), to pay damages to the tune of $10bn — at minimum.
But analysts say the ethical implications of the case and the circumstances surrounding it could scuttle Trump's plans to claim the cash.
“This is a weird Donald Trump lawsuit where it's not entirely performative,” said Samuel Brunson, a professor at Loyola University Chicago School of Law.
“He does have a legitimate complaint. The leaking of the information, it is an actual wrong, and it's one that Congress has recognised.”
But step beyond that fact, and Brunson explained that Trump’s claim is "not great".