Judge slams Trump’s IRS lawsuit as ‘improper,’ refers acting AG Blanche to bar

President Donald Trump and his two eldest sons’ $10-billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was brought for “an improper purpose,” a Florida-based federal judge ruled. The judge also recommended attorney sanctions for the Trumps’ lawyers.

In a blistering ruling Monday, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams issued the strongest rebuke of Trump’s lawsuit from the judiciary yet, characterizing it as an unparalleled expression of self-dealing.

“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, who was nominated by former President Barack Obama, wrote.

The judge ordered that a copy of her ruling be sent to the State Bar of New York, of which acting Attorney General Blanche, one of Trump’s former personal defense lawyers, is a member. 

Blanche is currently facing multiple ethics complaints filed with the New York Attorney Grievance Committee over alleged misconduct and abuse of investigative powers during his tenure at the DOJ.

Additionally, the judge asked that a copy be sent to the District of Columbia Bar, where Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward, another DOJ attorney involved in Trump’s suit, is barred.

Williams also referred Trump’s personal attorney in the case, Alejandro Brito, to the Florida Bar “for its consideration, review, and determination as to whether any disciplinary action is appropriate in light of the findings and rulings made in this Order.”

Trump and the Department of Justice (DOJ) settled the suit by establishing a massive $1.776 billion slush fund to compensate the president’s allies. The settlement also included conditions that would permanently insulate the president, his family members and businesses from IRS audits. 

After facing significant bipartisan backlash and a court injunction against the fund, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Trump’s former defense attorney, publicly claimed the department was not moving forward with that portion of the settlement.

In taking the IRS to court, Trump was basically suing his own administration. In effect, he controlled both sides of the litigation.

In her ruling, Williams emphasized that the DOJ’s explicit inaction in response to Trump’s suit served as clear evidence of the president’s double-dealing in the case. She slammed the department for “abdicating its responsibility to zealously defend the interests of the United States.”

“The Government entered into a ‘settlement’ that deviated from its litigation posture in similar actions, disregarded DOJ policies, and accomplished objectives beyond those authorized, as well as those specifically prohibited, by law,” the judge added.

In their suit, Trump and his sons demanded that the government hand over $10 billion of taxpayers’ money because the Department of the Treasury and the IRS failed to prevent a former contractor from accessing the president’s tax records and sharing them with the New York Times during his first presidential term.

Although the Trump Organization is headquartered in New York City, the Trumps filed their lawsuit against the IRS and Treasury in the Southern District of Florida, a jurisdiction with a reputation for being friendly to the president.