A judge has ordered former President Donald Trump and lead attorney Alina Habba to pay $938,000 in sanctions for bringing a “completely frivolous” lawsuit to his court.
In March, Trump sued former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and other perceived enemies, including former FBI Director James Comey. Trump’s suit alleged that Clinton and others sought to create a false narrative that he was colluding with Russia in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election.
Judge Donald Middlebrooks slammed the highly litigious 45th president and his lawyers, saying the “case should never have been brought.” In his 46-page ruling, Middlebrooks wrote, “Its inadequacy as a legal claim was evident from the start. No reasonable lawyer would have filed it. Intended for a political purpose, none of the counts of the amended complaint stated a cognizable legal claim.”
The $938,000 will go to pay the legal bills of the 31 defendants in Trump’s suit, with $172,000 going to Hillary Clinton.
The New York Times reports:
The ruling was a significant rebuke of Mr. Trump, who has rarely faced such consequences in his long history of using the courts as a weapon against business rivals and partners, as well as former employees and reporters.
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While Mr. Trump has often blamed his lawyers for his problems, the judge, in his ruling on Thursday, addressed Mr. Trump’s history of using the courts as a cudgel, going back decades in his business career.
“Mr. Trump is a prolific and sophisticated litigant who is repeatedly using the courts to seek revenge on political adversaries,” Judge Middlebrooks wrote. “He is the mastermind of strategic abuse of the judicial process, and he cannot be seen as a litigant blindly following the advice of a lawyer. He knew full well the impact of his actions.”
Judge Middlebrooks said Mr. Trump’s suit had been “brought in bad faith for an improper purpose” and had “needlessly harmed” the 31 individuals and organizations, including the Democratic National Committee, he had sued “in order to dishonestly advance a political narrative.” The judge added that Mr. Trump’s use of the courts had helped to undermine the public’s confidence in them.
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