AXIOS (Avery Lotz) - Judge sanctions Trump's lawyers for IRS settlement, anti-weaponization fund
A federal judge lambasted and penalized the attorneys behind President Trump's settlement with the IRS, saying in an explosive Monday order that the case was a means to an end: judicial cover for a deal granting Trump audit immunity and creating his controversial anti-weaponization fund. The big picture: The $1.776 billion pot of money, born from the Trump settlement , created an avalanche of bipartisan concern and legal scrutiny. What she's saying: U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams sanctioned the lawyers, deeming the lawsuit to have been "improperly employed" to justify the settlement fund. - The "action was never about a party seeking judicial resolution of a legal issue or a factual dispute," she wrote in her scathing order. -…