Judge rules Trump misused IRS court case, refers attorneys for discipline

A federal judge ruled Monday to nullify an agreement brokered between President Donald Trump and the Internal Revenue Service that spurred the creation of the long-contested anti-weaponization fund. The fund’s establishment came out of a $10 billion lawsuit Trump brought against the IRS after a former contractor leaked the president’s tax information. Trump included the nearly $1.8 billion fund’s creation as a condition for dropping the case.

How can the settlement be changed if the case is already dismissed? U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ruled Monday that Trump acted in bad faith and brought the case for an improper purpose. She added that because Trump is president and the IRS is part of the executive branch, the two parties to the lawsuit do not have the adverse interests legally required to bring litigation. Trump brought the case as a means to an end for gaining a legitimate judicial order to create the fund, which had no viable basis in law or fact, according to her 56-page order.

Did the judge do anything else? Judge Williams referred Alejandro Brito, an attorney representing Trump in the case, to the Florida Bar for possible disciplinary action. She also ordered that another Trump attorney, Daniel Epstein, be prohibited from filing within the Southern District of Florida for up to a year, according to the ruling.

Where exactly does the fund stand now? The anti-weaponization fund has been the center of a judicial ping-pong match, with rulings from various judges continually changing the proposed fund’s status. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told lawmakers in June that the Justice Department planned to scrap the fund after the ongoing legal battle. However, DOJ officials would not submit a written declaration under penalty of perjury affirming Blanche’s promise, which kept the lawsuits active.