A federal judge has sharply rebuked President Donald Trump and lawyers involved in his lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service, finding that the case was brought for an improper purpose and sought to manipulate the judicial process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams ordered sanctions against attorneys involved in the case and referred a Trump lawyer and senior Justice Department officials to professional disciplinary authorities, according to CNN and the Associated Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump, his two eldest sons and the Trump Organization sued the IRS and Treasury over the disclosure of his tax records. The litigation later produced an agreement that included protection from certain tax audits and initially proposed a $1.776 billion anti-weaponization fund for people who claimed they had been unfairly targeted by the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The administration abandoned the fund in June after bipartisan criticism and legal challenges. Williams said the lawsuit lacked genuinely adverse parties because Trump was suing an agency controlled by his own administration. Her order also barred the parties from presenting the agreement as a legitimate court settlement in future official proceedings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump\u2019s legal team has argued that the IRS failed to protect confidential tax information from an employee who leaked it to news organizations. A Justice Department spokesperson disputed the judge\u2019s characterization of the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CNN previously reported that the Justice Department would not move forward with the anti-weaponization fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Watch CNN video coverage:<\/p>\n\n\n\n