A federal judge imposed professional penalties against lawyers representing President Trump in a civil lawsuit he brought against the IRS and harshly criticized the Justice Department for its handling of the case, concluding that the suit was brought for an "improper purpose."  What gives the judge the right to make the rebuke.  

     In a scathing 56-page decision, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams referred one of Mr. Trump's lawyers, Alejandro Brito, to the Florida Bar for potential disciplinary action. The judge limited the ability of a second lawyer, Daniel Epstein, to practice in the Southern District of Florida.

     Williams also barred the Justice Department, IRS and Mr. Trump from citing or using provisions of a deal the two sides reached in judicial, administrative, regulatory or other proceedings as evidence of a settlement in the case. The case, Williams wrote, "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." Additionally, the president and his two older sons, who were plaintiffs alongside Mr. Trump, "acted in bad faith," she concluded. "In sum, the facts before this Court demonstrate there was never adverseness between the Parties; there was never a case or controversy; and there was never a question as to who would prevail," she said.

     Williams also directed a copy of her order to be mailed to the State Bar of New York and to the District of Columbia Bar, of which acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward are members, respectively. Blanche and Woodward signed documents relating to the settlement with Mr. Trump. A spokesman for Mr. Trump's legal team said in response to the decision, "The IRS wrongly allowed a rogue, politically motivated employee to leak private and confidential information about President Trump, his family, and the Trump Organization to the New York Times, ProPublica and other left-wing news outlets, which was then illegally released to millions of people. President Trump continues to hold those who wrong America and Americans accountable."

     Williams' extraordinary order came in response to concerns raised by a group of 35 former judges about the settlement agreement reached in May. The deal brought to an end the $10 billion civil lawsuit the president and his two oldest sons filed against the IRS earlier this year over the leak of Mr. Trump's tax returns by a government contractor. The settlement initially included the creation of a $1.776 billion "anti-weaponization" fund that aimed to provide taxpayer-funded payouts to individuals who alleged the federal government had been "weaponized" against them. But after immense blowback from Congress and a federal judge's ruling, Blanche said the Justice Department was "not moving forward" with the program. 

     Another provision of the settlement that permanently bars the IRS from pursuing tax claims against Mr. Trump, his oldest sons, his company or affiliated companies of his family remains intact. The former judges asked Williams in May to reopen the case between Mr. Trump and his administration, arguing that the agreement they reached to resolve the president's civil lawsuit was "the product of collusion" and a "fraud on the court." The settlement was reached as Williams was weighing whether she even had jurisdiction over the case.