Trump's $1.8bn IRS settlement overturned by US judge, that would have shielded him from tax audits

A US federal judge has voided a legal settlement between President Donald Trump and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) that would have shielded him from tax audits and created a proposed $1.8 billion "anti-weaponisation" fund.

US District Judge Kathleen Williams ruled on Monday that the lawsuit leading to the agreement "was filed for an improper purpose" and referred one of Trump's lawyers to state authorities to consider whether ethics rules had been breached.

In her ruling, Williams wrote the lawsuit "was never about a party seeking judicial resolution of a legal issue or a factual dispute" between Trump and the IRS.

She also described the agreement as an attempt 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 decision prevents Trump and others involved from relying on the settlement in future legal proceedings, potentially allowing the IRS to resume tax audits.

A spokesperson for Trump's legal team told the BBC that the IRS "wrongly allowed a rogue, politically-motivated employee to leak private and confidential information" and added: "President Trump continues to hold those who wrong America and Americans accountable."

The proposed fund, announced in May, was abandoned in June after facing separate legal challenges and criticism from lawmakers in both parties.