A federal judge did fault the leader of the Justice Department over how the Trump administration handled its IRS lawsuit, but the official is Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche — not Pam Bondi, whom Trump fired before elevating Blanche. On July 13, 2026, U.S.
District Judge Kathleen M. Williams voided a roughly $1.776 billion IRS settlement and found that Trump's $10 billion suit was filed for an "improper purpose" to "manipulate the judicial process." Blanche is the government's top lawyer while awaiting Senate confirmation as the permanent attorney general. The ruling singled out his sworn testimony to Congress as misleading, and it is now feeding both an ethics review and a stalled confirmation vote.
Table of Contents
- What the judge actually ruled
- Why the judge faulted Todd Blanche by name
- What the voided settlement contained
- Consequences for the lawyers involved
- How this affects Blanche's confirmation and what to watch
- Frequently Asked Questions
What the judge actually ruled
Judge Williams sits in the Southern District of Florida. Her 56-page opinion did two things at once: it threw out the settlement, and it accused the administration of gaming the courts. trump's January 29, 2026 lawsuit accused the IRS and Treasury of failing to stop a contractor's 2020 leak of his tax returns.
The deal that followed gave Trump and affiliated parties effective immunity from audits on their pre-settlement returns. Williams found the case was never a genuine dispute meant to be decided on the merits. Instead, she concluded it was structured to reach a pre-arranged payout — the reason she labeled the purpose "improper.".
Why the judge faulted Todd Blanche by name
The sharpest criticism targeted Blanche's May 19, 2026 testimony to the Senate. He argued that no court needed to review the settlement because, after the case was dismissed, "there is no judge." Williams rejected that reasoning bluntly. She called the testimony "at best, misleading and, at worst, disingenuous," and wrote that she was "extremely troubled" by it.
Her objection was structural. A party cannot dismiss its own case to escape judicial oversight and then claim no judge has authority to examine the result. The court retained power to review what was done in its own docket.
What the voided settlement contained
The scrapped agreement carried a roughly $1.776 billion price tag and a striking feature: it was never submitted to any court for review before taking effect. Part of the money created a roughly $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund.
It was framed as compensation for alleged victims of politicized prosecutions. Two elements drew scrutiny:.
- The audit immunity, which shielded Trump and affiliates from IRS review of returns filed before the deal.
- The fund itself, which routed a large public settlement toward a politically defined class without judicial sign-off.
Consequences for the lawyers involved
The ruling did more than cancel a deal. Williams ordered her opinion mailed to attorney disciplinary boards in New York and Washington, D.C., which are reviewing existing ethics complaints against Blanche and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward.
She separately referred Trump's private attorney, Alejandro Brito, to the Florida Bar for possible discipline. Disciplinary referrals do not by themselves prove misconduct; they trigger a review that can end in dismissal, a warning, or sanctions. Trump has already filed notice to appeal the ruling, so the voided settlement and the findings against it are not final.
How this affects Blanche's confirmation and what to watch
The fallout has reached the Senate. Judiciary Republicans postponed Blanche's confirmation vote after Sens.
John Cornyn and Thom Tillis demanded assurances on the settlement, and the DOJ refused to rescind it. For readers tracking this, a few checks matter before drawing conclusions: Because an appeal is pending, no part of this outcome is settled. A higher court could reverse Williams' factual findings, her remedy, or both.
- Confirm Blanche's current title — Acting Attorney General and nominee, not yet Senate-confirmed.
- Watch the Eleventh Circuit appeal, which could reinstate or permanently kill the settlement.
- Track the New York, D.C., and Florida disciplinary reviews, which run separately from the appeal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was Pam Bondi the attorney general the court criticized?
No. Trump fired Bondi and elevated Todd Blanche to acting attorney general. The ruling faulted Blanche, not Bondi.
Is the settlement gone for good?
Not yet. Judge Williams voided it, but Trump filed notice to appeal, so a higher court could still weigh in.
What was the "anti-weaponization" fund?
A roughly $1.8 billion pool in the voided deal, meant for alleged victims of politicized prosecutions, created without court review.