Former President Donald Trump and one in every of his attorneys had been ordered Thursday to pay almost $1 million for a “completely frivolous” lawsuit in opposition to Hillary Clinton and others.
U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks concluded that Trump undermined “the rule of law” with a string of lawsuits filed to air political grievances.
Middlebrooks wrote that the swimsuit in opposition to Clinton, former FBI officers and the Democratic Party “should never have been brought.” Middlebrooks ordered Trump and legal professional Alina Habba to pay $937,989.39 to Clinton and the opposite defendants.
A spokesperson for Habba and Trump declined to remark.
On Friday morning, Trump voluntarily dropped a lawsuit in opposition to New York State Attorney General Letitia James that had sought to stall her workplace’s $250 million civil case introduced in September in opposition to Trump and his firm. James’ workplace has accused Trump and his firm of widespread fraud.
A spokesperson for the New York Attorney General’s Office declined to remark.
Middlebrooks, who was additionally the decide assigned to Trump’s swimsuit in opposition to James, cited that swimsuit for example of Trump’s misuse of the courts for political functions.
“Mr. Trump is a prolific and sophisticated litigant who is repeatedly using the courts to seek revenge on political adversaries,” 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.”
Trump’s swimsuit in opposition to Clinton was dismissed by Middlebrooks in September. The swimsuit had claimed Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey and different officers had conspired to harm Trump and his 2016 presidential marketing campaign via allegations of collusion with Russia.
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