Command Palette

Search for a command to run...

News
Sign inSign up

Judge rebukes Trump-IRS deal, sends lawyers toward discipline

A federal judge said Trump’s IRS lawsuit was brought for an improper purpose, barred parties from invoking the settlement and referred lawyers for possible discipline. The ruling escalates scrutiny of the now-abandoned $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund and Todd Blanche’s attorney general nomination.

Published about 4 hours ago
reuters

'I'm not greedy': January 6 rioters and Trump allies eye $1.8 billion 'weaponization' fund

reuters

U.S. judge finds Trump misused court in IRS case, refers lawyers for discipline

usnews

U.S. Judge Voids Trump's Settlement With IRS, Refers Lawyers for Discipline

kfgo

U.S. judge voids Trump’s settlement with IRS

reuters

Trump drops IRS lawsuit in exchange for DOJ $1.8 billion 'weaponization' fund

Judge rebukes Trump-IRS deal, sends lawyers toward discipline
Click to expand

A settlement stripped of courtroom cover

A federal judge in Miami ruled Monday that President Donald Trump and his lawyers improperly used a $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS to give legal cover to benefits they could not have obtained through ordinary litigation. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams wrote that the case was brought for an “improper purpose” and that Trump’s side acted in bad faith while pursuing access to taxpayer funds and protection from audits and other investigationsreuters +1.

Williams barred Trump, the Justice Department, the IRS and other parties from invoking the purported settlement in judicial, administrative, regulatory or other official proceedings. She also referred attorney Alejandro Brito to the Florida Bar, restricted attorney Daniel Epstein’s practice in the Southern District of Florida, and directed copies of her order to bar authorities connected to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodwardreuters +1.

The fund that drew the court back in

The dispute stems from Trump’s January lawsuit over the leak of his tax returns by former IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn, who pleaded guilty in 2023. Trump, his sons and the Trump Organization sought $10 billion, then moved in May to dismiss the case after a deal with the Justice Department created a $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” and included broad tax protections for Trump-affiliated people and entitiestheguardian +1.

Legal experts and former officials quickly challenged the arrangement because Trump was effectively suing agencies inside the executive branch he controls. PBS reported that the fund would have been administered by commissioners and could compensate people alleging government “weaponization,” while critics warned it might direct taxpayer money to Trump allies, including some connected to January 6 casespolitico. ABC News reported that the plan sparked bipartisan uproar before Blanche said the administration was backing away from creating the fundreuters.

The political fallout lands this week

The ruling intensifies scrutiny on Blanche just before his scheduled Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on his nomination to become attorney general. Williams called his May testimony about the settlement review process “at best, misleading and, at worst, disingenuous,” while CNBC reported that the judge did not directly decide whether every private provision of the agreement remains enforceablereuters +1.

Trump’s legal team defended the lawsuit, saying the IRS allowed a politically motivated employee to leak private information about Trump, his family and the Trump Organization. Brandon DeBot of NYU’s Tax Law Center said the decision confirms the IRS should not implement the audit protections and argued Congress still needs to nullify the deal and prevent similar presidential self-dealingreuters +1.