A federal judge has nullified a government settlement with Donald Trump and his sons concerning leaked tax returns, according to a report by The Guardian.
US District Judge Kathleen Williams, based in the Southern District of Florida, blocked the agreement that aimed to resolve a $10 billion lawsuit filed by Trump.
The deal included a scrapped $1.8 billion fund and tax audit immunity for the Trump family.
Judge Williams issued sanctions against Trump's legal team, citing an abuse of the judicial system.
She determined that the lawsuit lacked a genuine legal controversy because Trump controlled the Treasury Department at the time of filing.
"The nature of the suit itself and the conduct of the parties and counsel from its filing make plain that this was an attempt to use the court to provide some legitimacy to an agreement to confer immunity to people and entities affiliated with the president and to earmark billions of dollars from American taxpayers to redress grievances not defined in the law," Williams stated.
The judge emphasized that the legal action was initiated without a valid foundation in either fact or law.
"The court finds that this matter was brought for an improper purpose – to gain the imprimatur of judicial legitimacy for a ‘settlement’ that had no viable basis in law or fact," she added.
The court action prevents any involved party from referencing or using the nullified settlement agreement in future legal proceedings.
Williams noted that Acting Attorney General Blanche appeared to represent both plaintiffs and defendants, signing the settlement on behalf of all parties and later repudiating part of it.
"This demonstrates that there was only one party whose interests were being represented throughout this case," she remarked.
Williams also highlighted that the plaintiffs filed the case despite expired statutes of limitations and ungrounded financial demands.
"This lawsuit was not brought to vindicate rights; it was brought to manipulate the judicial process to pursue benefits unavailable in litigation because the parties were not adverse," she said.
As part of disciplinary measures, attorney Alejandro Brito was referred to the Florida bar, while Daniel Epstein faced a one-year appearance ban in the district.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward were referred to their respective state bars.
Policy experts indicated that judicial intervention alone might not fully resolve the underlying issues.
"The court’s decision is important, but does not remove the need for congressional action to nullify the entire deal and to prevent any similar attempts at presidential self-dealing in the future," said Brandon DeBot, policy director at the Tax Law Center.
Blanche is scheduled to address lawmakers on Wednesday during a congressional confirmation hearing for his permanent appointment as attorney general.
