U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the media on the South Lawn of the White House on September 26, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Aaron Schwartz | Getty Images
A federal appeals court panel on Tuesday denied a motion to suspend sanctions imposed on two of President Donald Trump’s lawyers over their handling of a $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service.
A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that Miami U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen Williams failed to show that attorneys Alejandro Brito and Daniel Epstein lacked a sufficient basis to show that they were likely to succeed in finding that the attorneys acted in bad faith in a civil case.
The commission also said the appeal was premature. The committee noted that Williams had not made a final decision on whether to grant a request by a group of former judges to reopen the case (the controversial case was settled out of court in May), nor had he decided the question of attorney fees.
Mr. Brito and Mr. Epstein were sanctioned after President Trump took control of the Internal Revenue Service because of his position as head of the executive branch of the government, and Mr. Williams determined that the litigants were not against each other.
In July, Williams referred Brito to a Florida court to determine whether Brito should be disciplined in light of her damning findings after the case was resolved.
Williams also ordered the Southern District of Florida to deny all future criminal license applications by Epstein for one year. Lawyers who are not admitted to practice in a particular federal judicial district can still appear in cases there if admitted through a “pro-hack vice” application.
The Appeal Board’s decision denying the delay in sanctions was unanimous.
One of the panel’s judges, Kevin Newsom, was appointed by President Trump. The remaining two justices, Robin Rosenbaum and Adalbert Jordan, were appointed by President Barack Obama.
President Trump has sued the IRS over the leak of his tax records by an agency contractor. The settlement temporarily created a $1.8 billion “legal expenses” fund for the Justice Department, but it was quickly abandoned following outrage over the idea that it could be used to compensate defendants who assaulted police officers and other defendants during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
The settlement also shielded President Trump, his family, the Trump Organization, affiliated trusts and affiliates from potential IRS enforcement actions related to the filed federal tax returns.
Williams found that the plaintiffs, including Trump’s eldest son Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, filed the suit “solely to provide cover for a collusive settlement” and “acted in bad faith and for a wrongful purpose.”
In addition to sanctions against Brito and Epstein, Mr. Williams also ordered a copy of his order to be sent to the New York State Bar Association, of which acting attorney general Todd Blanche is a member. Blanche, President Trump’s former criminal defense attorney, announced the creation of a now-defunct Justice Department compensation fund after the lawsuit was settled.
“The IRS unfairly allowed corrupt, politically motivated employees to leak private and sensitive information about President Trump, his family, and the Trump Organization to the New York Times, ProPublica, and other left-wing news outlets, which then illegally disclosed it to millions of people,” a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team said in a statement about Tuesday’s ruling by the appeals panel.
“President Trump continues to hold accountable those who have wronged America and Americans,” the spokesperson said.
