Trump Ordered to Pay $1M over Clinton Lawsuit
Trump Ordered to Pay $1M over Clinton Lawsuit
The News
A federal court ruled Wednesday that President Donald Trump and his former lawyer, Alina Habba, are still on the hook for a $1 million penalty for filing a "frivolous" lawsuit against Hillary Clinton, former FBI director James Comey and others.
The ruling from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals relates to a now-dismissed lawsuit filed by Trump relating to Russian collusion claims. Trump was first ordered to pay the $1 million in the case in 2023, but he and Habba appealed the ruling.
Trump and Habba, who now serves as U.S. attorney for New Jersey, will be forced to pay approximately $938,000 — split between the dozens of individuals named in the lawsuit.
Two defendants in the case also claimed that Trump's appeal itself was frivolous and sought additional sanctions for it, but the court disagreed.
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"Here we are confronted with a lawsuit that should never have been filed, which was completely frivolous, both factually and legally, and which was brought in bad faith for an improper purpose," wrote Judge Donald Middlebrooks in his 2023 ruling, which was upheld Wednesday.
"Mr. Trump is a prolific and sophisticated litigant who is repeatedly using the courts to seek revenge on political adversaries. 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 added.
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In addition to Clinton and Comey, their lawsuit also named Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, and many more.
In the original lawsuit, Trump accused the high-profile figures of conspiring to tank his successful 2016 presidential campaign.
Wednesday's ruling comes just days after a separate federal court dismissed false statements charges leveled against Comey. Judge Cameron Currie ruled that the charges were brought by an unqualified U.S. attorney. That U.S. attorney is Lindsay Halligan, who Trump appointed to the position just weeks prior.
Currie, a Clinton appointee based in South Carolina, was brought in from out of state to preside over proceedings about the question of Halligan's authority because it presented a conflict for the Virginia judges. Comey's and James' challenges to Halligan's appointment were consolidated because of their similarity.
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