Federal Judge Rejects Trump Request to Suspend Sanctions in Trump v. IRS
September 16, 2026
The court leaves penalties in place, ruling that the president’s legal team failed to show they are likely to get the sanctions overturned on appeal
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Yesterday, a federal judge in Florida rejected Donald Trump’s request to stop enforcement of a court order in Trump v. IRS, leaving sanctions against Trump, his family and businesses, and lawyers in full effect.
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams found that the penalties were an appropriate response to the plaintiffs’ abuse of the legal system, cause no unfair harm, and serve the public interest.
The ruling reinforces the court’s July 13, 2026, decision concluding that the Trumps’ lawsuit against Trump’s IRS, handled by Trump’s DOJ, was a bad faith use of the legal system intended “to gain the imprimatur of judicial legitimacy for a ‘settlement’ that had no viable basis in law or fact.” That original ruling came after a bipartisan group of 35 former federal judges filed a brief exposing the lawsuit as a sham. Judge Williams agreed, finding that the lawsuit and the so-called settlement agreement approved by Attorney General Todd Blanche amounted to an abuse of the court.
Monday’s decision denying the administration’s expedited motion to stay the court’s order pending appeal means, for now, the consequences of that decision will not be put on hold.
“Judge Williams clearly explained why this lawsuit and its so-called ‘settlement agreement’ signed by Attorney General Blanche and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward were an abuse of the court, and she rightly kept the penalties in place,” said Amb. Norm Eisen (ret.), co-founder and board member of Democracy Defenders Action. “We’re pleased to see this order reaffirming the penalties and agree that the challenge to this ruling will not succeed.”
Read the order here.
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Democracy Defenders Action brings together a nonpartisan team to work with national, state, and local allies across the country to defend in real-time the foundations of our democracy.
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