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A federal judge is sharply criticizing the Trump administration over the president's $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS
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saying the case was used to manipulate the judicial process. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ruled that Trump pursued the lawsuit for an improper purpose
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arguing he sued the IRS even though the agency was under his own administration, not a legal adversary
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The case ended in a settlement that shielded Trump from future IRS audits and initially created a $1.7 billion anti-weaponization fund to compensate people who say they were wrongly prosecuted during the Biden administration
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That fund was later scrapped after bipartisan criticism that it could be used to funnel taxpayer money to Trump's political allies
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The judge also referred Trump's attorney, Alejandro Brito, to the Florida Bar for possible disciplinary action
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A second Justice Department lawyer is barred from filing motions in Florida's Southern District for up to a year
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The case is also expected to come up tomorrow when Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing
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The White House continues to argue the lawsuit was justified because the IRS failed to prevent Trump's tax returns from being leaked to news organizations in 2018 and 2020
