US Judge Accuses Trump of Manipulating Judicial Process, Sanctions Lawyers Over $1.8 Billion IRS Settlement Case

A United States District Judge, Kathleen Williams, has issued a scathing ruling against a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), describing the action as an attempt to “manipulate the judicial process” and brought in bad faith.

In her 56‑page opinion, Justice Williams held that the suit was designed to confer illegitimate immunity on Trump and his associates, while earmarking billions of taxpayer dollars for grievances not recognised by law. She ordered sanctions against both government lawyers and Trump’s private attorneys, directing that her opinion be forwarded to disciplinary boards in New York and Washington, D.C., where ongoing ethics complaints are already under review against Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward.

The court further referred one of Trump’s private attorneys to the Florida Bar for possible disciplinary proceedings and barred another from appearing in the Southern District of Florida for one year. Justice Williams criticised the Department of Justice (DOJ) for abandoning its duty to defend the interests of the United States, noting that the government entered into a settlement that disregarded DOJ policy and achieved objectives prohibited by law.

The controversial lawsuit had earlier led to the creation of a now‑defunct $1.8 billion “Anti‑Weaponisation Fund”, which was used to justify an order granting Trump and his businesses amnesty for past tax issues. Although the suit was withdrawn months ago and the fund abandoned, the ruling remains a serious rebuke and raises politically uncomfortable questions for Blanche ahead of his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing.

Justice Williams stressed that while the president may be the functional head of the executive branch, he remains bound by the same rules as any litigant in civil proceedings. She underscored the judiciary’s constitutional duty to prevent courts from being used for purposes outside the law.

The original suit, filed in January, accused the IRS and the Treasury Department of failing to prevent leaks of Trump’s tax information to media outlets between 2018 and 2020.

… US Judge Accuses Trump of Manipulating Judicial Process, Sanctions Lawyers Over $1.8 Billion IRS Settlement Case … Naijaonpoint.