A U.S. federal judge has ruled that President Donald Trump acted in bad faith by filing a controversial lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), describing the case as an attempt to misuse the judicial system.
In a 56-page ruling issued on Monday, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams criticized both the legal team representing Trump and the Department of Justice, saying the lawsuit appeared designed to give legal credibility to arrangements that went beyond what the law permits.
The judge ordered sanctions against the attorneys involved in the case and directed that her opinion be forwarded to attorney disciplinary authorities in New York and Washington, D.C., where ethics complaints involving senior Justice Department officials are already under review.
Williams also referred one of Trump’s private lawyers to the Florida Bar for possible disciplinary action and barred another attorney from making court appearances in the Southern District of Florida for one year.
According to the ruling, the proposed settlement sought to establish a multi-billion-dollar compensation fund for individuals claiming they had been unfairly targeted by the justice system. The judge concluded that the arrangement exceeded the legal authority of the parties involved and conflicted with established Justice Department policies.
Despite the sharp criticism, the practical impact of the decision is expected to be limited because the lawsuit was withdrawn months earlier and the proposed compensation fund was abandoned following bipartisan opposition.
A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team defended the lawsuit, arguing that confidential tax information belonging to the president, his family and his business interests had been improperly disclosed by a politically motivated IRS employee, and maintained that efforts to hold those responsible accountable would continue.
The lawsuit, originally filed against the IRS and the U.S. Treasury Department, alleged that the agencies failed to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of Trump’s tax records to media organisations between 2018 and 2020.
Judge Williams emphasized that while the president leads the executive branch, he remains subject to the same legal rules governing all parties appearing before the courts, stressing that the judicial system must not be used for purposes outside its constitutional role.
