In a scathing order issued today against the Trump administration, US District Judge Kathleen Williams said President Donald Trump had sued the Internal Revenue Service “for an improper purpose” — to gain the appearance of “judicial legitimacy” for a controversial settlement with the Justice Department, which the president effectively controls.

Judge Williams addressed the egregious behavior of both the Justice Department and the private attorneys who brought the IRS lawsuit on Trump’s behalf, confirming that the administration’s response to the case disregarded DOJ policies and potentially the law.

“The nature of the suit itself and the conduct of the Parties and counsel from its filing make plain that this was an attempt to use the Court to provide some legitimacy to an agreement to confer immunity to people and entities affiliated with the President and to earmark billions of dollars from American taxpayers to redress grievances not defined in the law,” the judge wrote.

Williams also ordered that her opinion be submitted to attorney disciplinary boards in New York and Washington, DC, that are currently reviewing pre-existing professional ethics complaints against acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward.

Full ruling: