Judge: Trump sought to 'manipulate the judicial process' with his IRS lawsuit and attempted $1.8B fund

[LetMyPeopleVote]

Last edited Mon Jul 13, 2026, 01:12 PM - Edit history (1)

Here is an updated article on this ruling

Judge: Trump sought to ‘manipulate the judicial process’ with his IRS lawsuit and attempted .8B fund
#FelonTrump
That's Trump
www.cnn.com/2026/07/13/p...

— Thomas Keepout (@thomasworking.bsky.social) 2026-07-13T17:06:03.241Z

https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/13/politics/trump-irs-judge-ruling-settlement-sanctions

A federal judge Monday said a controversial lawsuit brought by President Donald Trump against the IRS sought to “manipulate the judicial process” and that he acted in bad faith in bringing it.

US District Judge Kathleen Williams is ordering sanctions for the attorneys involved in the lawsuit, which led to an attempt to create the now-defunct $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund for allies of the president. It was also used to justify a Trump administration order giving Trump and his businesses amnesty for any past tax issues.

Williams’ 56-page opinion blasted the behavior of both the Justice Department — arguing that the administration’s response to the case disregarded DOJ policies and potentially the law — and of the private attorneys who brought the lawsuit on Trump’s behalf.

“The nature of the suit itself and the conduct of the Parties and counsel from its filing make plain that this was an attempt to use the Court to provide some legitimacy to an agreement to confer immunity to people and entities affiliated with the President and to earmark billions of dollars from American taxpayers to redress grievances not defined in the law,” the judge wrote.

She ordered that her opinion be submitted to attorney disciplinary boards in in New York and Washington, DC, that are currently reviewing pre-existing professional ethics complaints against acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward.

[hookaleft]

1. Oh this is gonna make Blanche's confirmation hearing extra special

[hookaleft]

2. Does anyone know where I can read the opinion online

Don't want to go to X. Don't have an account

[LetMyPeopleVote]

5. Here is a link to the opinion

I just started reading it
https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72207870/106/trump-v-internal-revenue-service/

[hookaleft]

7. I just finished reading it. It is scathing

Blanche is toast!

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. Judge Blasts Trump's IRS Lawsuit as Filed for 'Improper Purpose,' Recommends Attorney Discipline

This will be fun to watch in Blanche's confirmation hearing

A federal judge said Trump’s IRS lawsuit over leaked tax returns was for an “improper purpose” and referred his attorneys for disciplinary actions. Judge Kathleen Williams characterized it as an exercise in self-dealing in which Trump sued an entity he controls.
apnews.com/article/trum...

— Tim O’Brien (@timobrien.bsky.social) 2026-07-13T16:12:58.716Z

https://apnews.com/article/trump-irs-justice-department-61adebe5de8982eb214b30889ad4f251

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge said Monday that President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over his leaked tax returns was filed for an “improper purpose” as she referred attorneys for disciplinary actions.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams amounts to a stinging rebuke of the Republican president’s lawsuit, characterizing it as an exercise in self-dealing in which he sued an entity that is effectively under his control.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

4. Judge blasts Trump's IRS lawsuit as filed for 'improper purpose,' recommends attorney discipline

The recommendation for attorney discipline made me smile

A federal judge said Trump’s IRS lawsuit over leaked tax returns was for an “improper purpose” and referred his attorneys for disciplinary actions. Judge Kathleen Williams characterized it as an exercise in self-dealing in which Trump sued an entity he controls.
apnews.com/article/trum...

— Tim O’Brien (@timobrien.bsky.social) 2026-07-13T16:12:58.716Z

https://apnews.com/article/trump-irs-justice-department-61adebe5de8982eb214b30889ad4f251

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service over his leaked tax returns was filed for an “improper purpose,” a judge said Monday in a scathing decision that recommended attorney sanctions and disciplinary action.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams amounts to a stinging rebuke of the Republican president’s lawsuit, characterizing it as an exercise in self-dealing in which he sued an entity that is effectively under his control.

The suit concluded in May with a settlement agreement that created a since-abandoned $1.776 billion fund meant to compensate allies of the president, as well as immunity from tax audits.

“The nature of the suit itself and the conduct of the Parties and counsel from its filing make plain that this was an attempt to use the Court to provide some legitimacy to an agreement to confer immunity to people and entities affiliated with the President and to earmark billions of dollars from American taxpayers to redress grievances not defined in the law,” the judge wrote.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

6. The Judge referred Blanche, another DOJ asshole attorney and a private attorney to the various bar associations

Referring Blanche to the bar just before his confirmation hearing makes me smile

Link to tweet

BREAKING

A federal judge NULLIFIES the purported “settlement” behind Trump’s $1.776B slush fund, finding there was never a “case or controversy” — and referring his attorney for possible professional discipline.

Doc https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.706172/gov.uscourts.flsd.706172.106.0.pdf

[hookaleft]

8. Seriously, this should be impeachable.

You should read the order. She serves it up to Trump.

[appmanga]

9. I can't believe there are lawyers who continue to risk disbarment for this guy...

Last edited Mon Jul 13, 2026, 04:56 PM - Edit history (4)

...when you already have a plethora who've already been disbarred because of him. It's got to be a freaking cult.

ETA: still reading the decision, but the judge hoists Trump and, by extension the Supreme Court, on their own petard with this except...

Indeed, just recently, the Supreme Court cited Myers v. United States, 272 U.S. 52, 133 (1926) as a 'landmark decisio' and 'perhaps our best word on the subject' of whether the President could remove subordinates in government service at will. Trump v. Slaughter, 609 U.S. __, slip op. at 16 (2026). Finding that he could, the majority ruled that '[s]ubordinates who exercise the President’s power are subject to removal by him. Then, and only then, can they remain accountable to the President, and the President to the people'. '[T]hese officers exercise the President’s power, not their own, and thus must be responsible to him' Id.

ETAM: I hate to keep editing this post on the fly, but this portion is just too good...

Plaintiffs cannot argue before the Supreme Court that Executive Branch actors 'unquestionably exercise[] executive power, and must therefore be controlled by the Chief Executive[,]' Slaughter, 609 U.S. at 27, and then here, argue that the Parties are sufficiently adverse to establish an actual case or controversy.

[LetMyPeopleVote]

10. MaddowBlog-Judge slams Trump-IRS 'settlement,' refers attorney for possible disciplinary actions

The president probably thought his $10 billion case against the IRS was over. That was before a federal court found his lawyers acted in “bad faith.”

A federal judge set out to investigate “grievous allegations” in the Trump-IRS case.

She apparently did not like what she discovered, concluding that Trump and his lawyers acted “in bad faith” and filed a civil suit “for an improper purpose.”
www.ms.now/rachel-maddo...

— Steve Benen (@stevebenen.com) 2026-07-13T17:37:12.625Z

https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-irs-settlement-sanctions-lawyers-leaked-tax-returns

By now, Donald Trump has probably grown accustomed to legal setbacks in court, though his case against the IRS has started to backfire in ways the president didn’t see coming. The Associated Press reported:

A federal judge said Monday that President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over his leaked tax returns was filed for an “improper purpose” as she referred attorneys for disciplinary actions.

The ruling from U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams amounts to a stinging rebuke of the Republican president’s lawsuit, characterizing it as an exercise in self-dealing in which he sued an entity that is effectively under his control.

.....More than a month later, she apparently did not like what she discovered, concluding that Trump and his lawyers acted “in bad faith” and filed a civil suit “for an improper purpose.”

“The nature of the suit itself and the conduct of the Parties and counsel from its filing make plain that this was an attempt to use the Court to provide some legitimacy to an agreement to confer immunity to people and entities affiliated with the President and to earmark billions of dollars from American taxpayers to redress grievances not defined in the law,” Williams wrote.

The judge also prohibited the parties from even referring to it as a “settlement.”

Just as notably, as CNBC reported, Williams “referred Trump’s lawyer in the lawsuit, Alejandro Brito, to the Florida bar for consideration on whether Brito should be disciplined in light of the findings in the new order.” The judge also “ordered that a copy of her ruling be mailed to the State Bar of New York, of which Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is a member, as well as to the District of Columbia Bar, of which Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward is a member.”

I am looking forward to Blanche's confirmation hearing. One of the questions may be to find out if a disbarred attorney can be Attorney General

[kentuck]

11. Why is that not an impeachable offense?

Attempting to deceive and defraud the government of $1.8 billion dollars of taxpayer money?