House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and Courts Subcommittee Chairman Darrell Issa on Thursday asked the Judicial Conference of the United States to review the conduct of U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams of the Southern District of Florida, the committee announced in an official press release.
In a letter to Judge Robert Conrad Jr., Secretary of the Judicial Conference, Jordan and Issa alleged — in the committee's words — that Williams abused her judicial authority and violated fundamental tenets of judicial impartiality in a July 13, 2026 order sanctioning two attorneys for President Donald Trump. Those are the lawmakers' allegations; no finding has been made against the judge.
The sanctions grew out of a lawsuit Trump filed in his personal capacity against the Internal Revenue Service over the leaking of his tax returns. The plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed the case in May, and the administration later announced a $1.776 billion settlement creating an anti-weaponization fund. According to Fox News reporting cited in coverage of the letter, Trump himself was to receive no compensation, but a formal apology and a bar on the IRS auditing him or his family.
Williams's July order referred attorney Alejandro Brito to the Florida Bar for potential disciplinary action and barred attorney Daniel Epstein from practicing in her court for at least a year, and, according to Particle News, voided the announced settlement. The House committee alleged she acted after the dismissal and entertained an unsolicited filing from nonparty Democracy Defenders Action; Fox News reported that group said its brief was submitted on behalf of 35 former federal judges and accused both sides of fraud over the settlement — a claim the parties have not accepted.
Particle News reported the sanctions remain in effect while the case is appealed, after the Eleventh Circuit recently declined to stay the district court's penalties, and that the committee asked the Judicial Conference to report back by November 5. If the Conference accepts the request, it could open an administrative review that may lead to a referral to the Eleventh Circuit's Judicial Council or to state bar proceedings.