00:02A federal judge is sharply criticizing the Trump administration over the president's
00:07$10 billion lawsuit against the IRS, saying the case was used to manipulate the judicial process.
00:15U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ruled that Trump pursued the lawsuit for an improper purpose,
00:22arguing he sued the IRS even though the agency was under his own administration,
00:27not a legal adversary. The case ended in a settlement that shielded Trump from future
00:32IRS audits and initially created a $1.7 billion anti-weaponization fund to compensate people
00:40who say they were wrongly prosecuted during the Biden administration. That fund was later scrapped
00:45after bipartisan criticism that it could be used to funnel taxpayer money to Trump's political allies.
00:51The judge also referred Trump's attorney, Alejandro Brito, to the Florida Bar for possible
00:57disciplinary action. A second Justice Department lawyer is barred from filing motions in Florida's
01:03Southern District for up to a year. The case is also expected to come up tomorrow when acting
01:08Attorney General Todd Blanche appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation
01:13hearing. The White House continues to argue the lawsuit was justified because the IRS failed to
01:20prevent Trump's tax returns from being leaked to news organizations in 2018 and 2020.
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