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Appeals Court Denies Trump’s Bid to Pause Sanctions Over IRS Lawsuit

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Coverage spectrum

Covered by 5 outlets across the spectrum.

6 articles in total, 1 of them opinion. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit has rejected a request from President Donald Trump and his lawyers to pause sanctions imposed in connection with his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS. A unanimous three-judge panel, in a per curiam opinion, found that Trump’s lawyers had not shown they were likely to succeed in challenging U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams’ July ruling that the lawsuit and its settlement were collusive and made in bad faith, because Trump controls both the IRS and the Department of Justice. The May settlement of the suit led to the creation of a $1.8 billion fund, later scrapped after criticism, intended to compensate people targeted by federal law enforcement.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals denied Trump’s request to pause sanctions tied to his IRS lawsuit.

    Reported byLeftCenterRight

  2. Judge Kathleen Williams found in July that the lawsuit and its settlement were collusive and made in bad faith.

    Reported byLeftCenterRight

  3. The panel was unanimous and issued its decision in a per curiam opinion.

    Reported byLeftRight

  4. The lawsuit sought $10 billion in damages from the IRS.

    Reported byLeftCenterRight

  5. The May settlement led to creation of a $1.8 billion fund, which was later scrapped after criticism.

    Reported byCenterRight

  6. The judges wrote that Trump’s lawyers offered no evidence explaining their litigation conduct.

    Reported byRight

How each side tells it

Compare views

  • the left

    1 outlet · 1 opinion

    Mainstream left coverage (Bloomberg) frames the story factually as a legal defeat for Trump, while the far-left opinion outlet MeidasTouch uses sharper language, calling it an “IRS Scheme” and describing the lawsuit as manufacturing “judicial legitimacy” for an administration deal.

    Trump Loses Bid to Pause Judge’s Sanctions in IRS Case Fight
    BloombergLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    2 outlets

    Center outlets state plainly that the appeals court denied the request and, in The Hill’s case, that it upheld the collusion finding, while CNBC foregrounds the defunct $1.8 billion “lawfare” fund.

    Appeals court backs finding Trump colluded with IRS, Treasury
    The HillCenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    2 outlets

    Right-leaning outlets describe the ruling neutrally as a denial of Trump’s request, with The Washington Times additionally noting the court’s finding of “collusion and bad faith” regarding the now-defunct anti-weaponization fund.

    Appeals Court Denies Trump’s Request to Block Sanctions Over IRS Settlement
    The Epoch TimesFar RightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left2

    manufacture judicial legitimacyIRS Scheme

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

In the outlets’ own words

  • Absolutist framing

    manufacture judicial legitimacyMore neutral: used the lawsuit in connection with an administration deal

    States as fact that Trump used the lawsuit to fake legitimacy for a deal, a contested interpretation rather than an established fact.

    …restrictions born from her finding that Trump used a federal lawsuit to manufacture judicial legitimacy for an administration deal.

    Used byMeidasTouch (Far Left)

  • Delegitimizing label

    IRS SchemeMore neutral: IRS Lawsuit Settlement

    Labels the lawsuit a ‘scheme’ as settled fact, presenting a contested characterization as established.

    Trump Loses Bid to Freeze Sanctions Over His IRS Scheme

    Used byMeidasTouch (Far Left)

Words quoted from someone else (1)Hide the quoted words

Loaded words that outlets reported someone else saying. They show what was said, not how the outlet chose to say it.

  • Loaded modifier

    Quoted

    collusion and bad faithMore neutral: conduct the court found problematic

    This is a serious judgment about the lawyers’ conduct presented without full quotation marks in the headline-adjacent text, though it originates from the court.

    …fund, saying Tuesday that the lower court appears had reason to find "collusion and bad faith."

    Quoted byThe Washington Times (Right)

    Inside a quotation: the outlets are reporting someone else’s words.

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

1 outlet · 1 opinion

Leads with

  • Trump’s legal defeat
  • the bad-faith and collusion findings
  • the IRS lawsuit’s broader purpose

Leaves out

  • details of the $1.8 billion fund and its later scrapping

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 2 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • BloombergLeft

    Trump Loses Bid to Pause Judge’s Sanctions in IRS Case Fight

    A US appeals court has refused to halt a Florida federal judge’s decision to penalize President Donald Trump and his lawyers for “bad faith” conduct in his $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service while he appeals.

    Read at Bloomberg (opens in a new tab)
  • MeidasTouchFar LeftOpinion

    Trump Loses Bid to Freeze Sanctions Over His Delegitimizing label“IRS Scheme”Labels the lawsuit a ‘scheme’ as settled fact, presenting a contested characterization as established.More neutral: IRS Lawsuit SettlementDisagree with this highlight?

    A unanimous Eleventh Circuit panel left Judge Kathleen Williams free to enforce restrictions born from her finding that Trump used a federal lawsuit to Absolutist framing“manufacture judicial legitimacy”States as fact that Trump used the lawsuit to fake legitimacy for a deal, a contested interpretation rather than an established fact.More neutral: used the lawsuit in connection with an administration dealDisagree with this highlight? for an administration deal.

    Read at MeidasTouch (opens in a new tab)

From the center

2 outlets

Leads with

  • the collusion finding
  • the fund created by the settlement and its collapse
  • procedural outcome at the appeals court
See the 2 headlines from the centerHide the headlines
  • The HillCenter

    Appeals court backs finding Trump colluded with IRS, Treasury

    An appeals court Tuesday sided with a lower court judge who determined President Trump colluded with the Justice Department (DOJ) in bringing and later dismissing a case seeking $10 billion in damages from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Florida-based U.S. …

    Read at The Hill (opens in a new tab)
  • CNBCCenter

    Trump lawyers lose bid to pause sanctions in IRS lawsuit case

    Trump's settlement of the lawsuit in May led the Department of Justice to create a $1.8 billion "lawfare" fund that was scuttled after widespread criticism.

    Read at CNBC (opens in a new tab)

From the right

2 outlets

Leads with

  • the court’s procedural ruling
  • the collusion and bad-faith findings
  • the defunct anti-weaponization fund

Leaves out

  • the $1.8 billion dollar figure for the fund

Reported by other sides, not found in this side’s coverage.

See the 2 headlines from the rightHide the headlines
  • The Epoch TimesFar Right

    Appeals Court Denies Trump’s Request to Block Sanctions Over IRS Settlement

    Lawyers for the president have not shown they are likely to succeed in the case, the unanimous panel said.

    Read at The Epoch Times (opens in a new tab)
  • The Washington TimesRight

    Appeals court won't block sanctions against Trump's lawyers over weaponization fund

    A federal appeals court declined to block sanctions against President Trump's lawyers who struck the deal that created the now-defunct anti-weaponization fund, saying Tuesday that the lower court appears had reason to find "Loaded modifier“collusion and bad faith”This is a serious judgment about the lawyers’ conduct presented without full quotation marks in the headline-adjacent text, though it originates from the court.More neutral: conduct the court found problematicThis appears inside a quotation. The outlet is reporting someone else’s words.Disagree with this highlight?."

    Read at The Washington Times (opens in a new tab)

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    First to report

    Bloomberg, Sep 29, 1:20 PM EDT

  • Center

    4 hr 54 min later

    Its first report, Sep 29, 6:14 PM EDT

  • Right

    3 hr 58 min later

    Its first report, Sep 29, 5:18 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. BloombergLeftSep 29, 1:20 PM EDT
  2. The Washington TimesRightSep 29, 5:18 PM EDT
  3. CNBCCenterSep 29, 6:14 PM EDT
  4. The Epoch TimesFar RightSep 30, 9:08 AM EDT
  5. The HillCenterSep 30, 2:53 PM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

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