The Daily Fuckup

A federal judge on July 13 tore into the civil case Donald Trump brought against the IRS, saying it was filed for an improper purpose and never presented the kind of real dispute federal courts are meant to resolve. In a 56-page order, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams said the lawsuit was used to secure judicial legitimacy for a deal that had no viable basis in law or fact. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/61adebe5de8982eb214b30889ad4f251?utm_source=openai))

Williams said the parties were never truly adverse and that Trump, while president, was suing federal agencies and officials whose actions were subject to his control. She concluded that the case was an effort to use the court to bless a specific arrangement involving taxpayer money and protections for Trump allies, rather than a straightforward fight over the IRS. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/61adebe5de8982eb214b30889ad4f251?utm_source=openai))

The order also drew professional consequences for two lawyers. Williams referred Alejandro Brito to the Florida Bar for possible disciplinary action and said Daniel Epstein would not be granted permission to file in the Southern District of Florida for up to one year. She also barred Trump, the Justice Department and the IRS from citing the settlement terms in judicial, administrative, regulatory or other proceedings as evidence that the deal itself was a legitimate settlement. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/61adebe5de8982eb214b30889ad4f251?utm_source=openai))

The ruling lands as a formal rebuke of how the case was handled from the start. Williams wrote that the record showed there was never a real case or controversy and that the litigation was deployed to make a prearranged outcome look lawful after the fact. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/61adebe5de8982eb214b30889ad4f251?utm_source=openai))