A U.S. federal judge has voided a controversial legal agreement between President Donald Trump and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that granted him and his business entities immunity from tax audits while also proposing the creation of a $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund."
In a strongly worded ruling issued on Monday, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams found that the settlement stemmed from a lawsuit filed for an "improper purpose" and concluded that Trump had misused the judicial process to obtain personal and political benefits. She ruled that the agreement lacked a legitimate legal basis and ordered that it cannot be cited or enforced in any future legal proceedings.
The case originated from a $10 billion lawsuit filed by Trump, his sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, and the Trump Organization against the IRS and the U.S. Treasury Department. They alleged that the agencies failed to prevent the leak of Trump's confidential tax returns, seeking damages for reputational and financial harm.
Judge Williams also referred Trump's attorney, Alejandro Brito, to the Florida Bar for possible disciplinary action and imposed sanctions on another lawyer involved in the case. She further directed that ethics complaints concerning senior Justice Department officials who negotiated the agreement be forwarded to the appropriate disciplinary authorities.
The now-voided settlement had attracted widespread criticism because it would have prevented future IRS audits of Trump and his affiliated businesses while establishing a multibillion-dollar fund for alleged victims of government "weaponization." Although the fund was abandoned following bipartisan opposition in Congress, the court held that the agreement itself was fundamentally flawed and could not stand.
The ruling represents a significant legal setback for Trump and comes amid heightened scrutiny of the Justice Department's handling of the case, with some of the officials involved facing questions during ongoing Senate proceedings.
