Judge Voids Trump-IRS Settlement Creating $1.776 Billion Fund and Imposes Sanctions

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams on July 13 voided a settlement between President Trump and the IRS that had created a $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund and extended immunity from tax audits to the president, his sons, the Trump Organization and related parties. Williams issued the 56-page order after finding the parties were never adverse and that no case or controversy existed.

"In sum, the facts before this Court demonstrate there was never adverseness between the Parties; there was never a case or controversy," she wrote. The settlement, reached in late May, would have permanently blocked the IRS from auditing past tax claims by President Trump and his family.

Trump had sued the IRS for $10 billion in January, alleging the agency failed to keep his tax returns private after a contractor leak.

Williams barred the parties from referring to the settlement or using its provisions in any official proceedings. She ordered monetary sanctions to be paid to former federal judges who intervened and non-monetary sanctions in the case. The judge referred attorney Alejandro Brito to the Florida Bar for potential disciplinary action.

She also directed a copy of the order to ongoing disciplinary proceedings against Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. "By bringing his IRS lawsuit and settling the case, Trump was using 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," the ruling added.