Judge sanctions Trump lawyers but tax-audit ban remains in effect
A federal judge referred Donald Trump’s attorneys for sanctions while upholding an order that bars the Treasury from pursuing tax audits against the former president and his family.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams on Monday referred the legal team of President Donald Trump for formal sanctions and barred him from describing a settlement with the Justice Department as a final resolution in future proceedings. The judge said Trump “improperly employed this lawsuit to justify a particular award in this matter – access to taxpayer funds and exemption from audits and other investigations.”
Williams noted that the legality of a May 19 Justice Department order that “forever barred” the government from continuing any already-started tax enforcement against Trump has not been challenged in her court. A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed the order remains in effect.
The tax-audit exemption is expected to be a focal point of Wednesday’s Senate hearing on the confirmation of Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who signed the order. Blanche, a former Trump personal attorney, also created the now-defunct $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund.”
Republican Sen. John Cornyn said he will question Blanche about both the fund and the audit exemption, while Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin, who met with Blanche, reported that Blanche claimed he had “nothing to do with” Trump’s IRS lawsuit and described himself as a “victim of a hit job” by the judge. Durbin added that Blanche’s defense was that the order did not apply to future audits, a point Durbin called “not much of a defense.”
The Treasury’s order applies only to tax returns filed before the date of Blanche’s directive and does not prevent future audits of Trump’s family or businesses. The New York Times previously reported that an adverse ruling in an ongoing audit could cost Trump up to $100 million.
The Justice Department reiterated that there was “no collusion” between Trump and his administration and that the plaintiffs in the case received no money and were barred from receiving any from the now-defunct fund.
Sen. Ron Wyden described the IRS deal as “an obscene act of corrupt self-dealing” and urged that Blanche’s nomination be rejected.