Overview
- A federal judge, Kathleen Williams, wrote in a 56-page opinion Monday that President Trump’s January suit against the IRS was filed to manipulate the courts and was brought in bad faith.
- Williams ordered sanctions, referred multiple lawyers to bar authorities in Florida, New York and D.C., and barred one of Trump’s private lawyers from practicing in the Southern District of Florida for one year.
- The opinion sharply criticized the Department of Justice for departing from its policies and raised ethical questions about acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and other DOJ participants for their roles in negotiating the agreement.
- By finding the litigation lacked a genuine adversary dispute, the ruling prevents the parties from treating the earlier DOJ–IRS understanding as a valid judicial outcome and further weakens the already abandoned $1.776 billion fund and tax-protection memorandum.
- The case traces to a high-profile leak by contractor Charles Littlejohn, and the decision is likely to prompt disciplinary reviews, affect Blanche’s Senate Judiciary confirmation process, and increase the chance that future prosecutors could pursue investigations the deal sought to block.