Jordan and Issa Ask Judicial Conference to Review Florida Judge Who Sanctioned Trump's Lawyers in IRS Case

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., have asked the federal judiciary's top policymaking body to review the conduct of a Miami federal judge who sanctioned two of President Donald Trump's lawyers after his lawsuit against the IRS was dropped.

In a letter dated Thursday, Oct. 22, to Judge Robert Conrad Jr., secretary of the Judicial Conference of the United States, the two Republicans asked the conference to review what they called evidence that U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams of the Southern District of Florida "abused her judicial authority and violated fundamental tenets of judicial impartiality," according to the committee's release. Fox News Digital first reported the letter.

What the Letter to the Judicial Conference Says

Jordan and Issa focus on the timing of Williams' July 13 sanctions order, which came after the plaintiffs had filed a notice of voluntary dismissal ending the case. According to the committee, a group of nonparties filed the motion that led to the order on May 27, nine days after the dismissal, and finished their briefing on June 19.

"Although Judge Williams invoked the court's inherent authority to impose sanctions, the Committee is not aware of Eleventh Circuit precedent applying inherent sanctions authority after a plaintiff has voluntarily dismissed a case based on briefing by partisan nonparties on an unrelated question the court never decided," the lawmakers wrote, according to Fox News Digital.

The letter also notes that the order was issued two days before then-Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's Senate confirmation hearing, and that Williams directed the clerk to mail copies of it to the State Bar of New York, where Blanche is a member, and to the District of Columbia Bar, where Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward is a member. The committee says that step implied misconduct on their part without basis.

"Judge Williams's conduct risks undermining public confidence in the federal courts," Jordan and Issa wrote, asking the conference to consider whether the matter warrants referral to the Judicial Council of the Eleventh Circuit or other action, and to report back by 5 p.m. on Nov. 5, Fox News Digital reported.

Issa went further in a statement to Fox News Digital. "The rogue federal judges who make up the Trump Resistance in Robes continue to disappoint but never surprise," he said, adding that Williams had "crossed a bright ethical line by going after his attorneys."

The letter is a request for review, not a finding. The Judicial Conference has not announced any action on it.

The Trump IRS Case and the July Sanctions

Trump, his sons Eric and Donald Jr., and the Trump Organization sued the IRS earlier this year seeking $10 billion in damages after an agency contractor, Charles Littlejohn, leaked the president's tax returns to the press, Fox News Digital reported. Littlejohn was sentenced to five years in federal prison.

The suit was voluntarily dismissed in May, and the administration then announced a settlement that included $1.776 billion for an "anti-weaponization fund" for people it says were targeted by "lawfare" during the Biden administration, according to Fox News Digital.

In her July 13 order, Williams wrote that the lawsuit "was brought to manipulate the judicial process to pursue benefits unavailable in litigation because the parties were not adverse," Law.com's Daily Business Review reported. She referred Trump attorney Alejandro Brito to the Florida Bar for possible discipline and ordered that any request by attorney Daniel Epstein to appear in cases in the district be denied for one year, according to CNBC and Fox News Digital.

On Sept. 29, a three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to pause the sanctions while the lawyers appeal, finding they had not made a strong showing they would win, CNBC reported. The panel also said the appeal was premature because Williams had not yet ruled on a request by a group of 35 former federal judges to reopen the case.

Democrats have defended Williams' skepticism of the settlement, and the anti-weaponization fund has since been blocked by other courts, according to Fox News Digital.

Image: Federal courthouse in Miami (file photo), Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Hold Everyone Accountable.

Sources: House Judiciary Committee, "Chairmen Jordan and Issa Ask Judicial Conference to Review Conduct of Florida Federal Judge" (Oct. 22, 2026): https://judiciary.house.gov/media/press-releases/chairmen-jordan-and-issa-ask-judicial-conference-review-conduct-florida ; Fox News Digital, "Obama-appointed judge at center of Trump's anti-weaponization fund case hit with misconduct claim" (Oct. 22, 2026): https://www.foxnews.com/politics/obama-appointed-judge-center-trumps-anti-weaponization-fund-case-hit-misconduct-claim ; CNBC, "Trump IRS lawsuit sanctions pause denied by appeals court" (Sept. 29, 2026): https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/29/trump-irs-lawsuit-attorney-sanctions-appeal.html ; Law.com Daily Business Review (July 13, 2026): https://www.law.com/dailybusinessreview/2026/07/13/miami-judge-sanctions-attorneys-skewers-improper-trump-irs-suit-/