
Florida Judge Fines Trump, Lawyer for ‘Frivolous’ Lawsuit

NEW YORK (AP) — A Florida Judge sanctioned former President Donald Trump and one of his attorneys Thursday, ordering them to pay nearly $1 million for filing what he said was a bogus lawsuit against Trump’s 2016 rival Hillary Clinton and others.
In a blistering filing, U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks accused Trump of a “pattern of abuse of the courts” for filing frivolous lawsuits for political purposes, which he said “undermines the rule of law” and “amounts to obstruction of justice.”
“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,” he wrote.
Citing Trump’s recent legal action against the Pulitzer Prize board, New York Attorney General Letitia James, big tech companies and CNN, he described Trump as “a prolific and sophisticated litigant” who uses the courts “to seek revenge on political adversaries.”
“He is the mastermind of strategic abuse of the judicial process,” he wrote.
The ruling required Trump and his attorney, Alina Habba, to pay nearly $938,000 to the defendants in the case.
A spokesman for Trump and Habba did not immediately respond to requests for comment late Thursday.
Middlebrooks in September dismissed the suit Trump had filed against Clinton, former top FBI officials and the Democratic Party, rejecting the former president’s claims that they and others conspired to sink his winning presidential campaign by alleging ties to Russia.
The lawsuit had named as defendants Clinton and some of her top advisers, as well as former FBI Director James Comey and other FBI officials involved in the investigation into whether Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign had coordinated with Russia to sway the outcome of the election.
He said then the suit contained “glaring structural deficiencies” and that many of the “characterizations of events are implausible.”
In The News
Health
Voting
In The News
WASHINGTON — Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, who has represented the Lone Star State’s 18th Congressional District since 1995, is... Read More
WASHINGTON — Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, who has represented the Lone Star State’s 18th Congressional District since 1995, is running for mayor of Houston. Jackson Lee, who is entering a crowded field of candidates vying to replace incumbent Mayor Sylvester Turner, who is term-limited, made... Read More
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden responded to the school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, Monday that left three children and three... Read More
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden responded to the school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, Monday that left three children and three adults dead, saying it is “a family’s worst nightmare” and calling on Congress to do more to address gun violence. “Gun violence … is ripping our... Read More
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan Senate bill would expand access to federal support for the families of firefighters and first responders... Read More
WASHINGTON — A bipartisan Senate bill would expand access to federal support for the families of firefighters and first responders who died as a result of carcinogenic exposure during their service. The bill introduced by Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., would also extend... Read More
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Despite all the descriptors you could put in front of his name — astrophysicist, director of... Read More
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — Despite all the descriptors you could put in front of his name — astrophysicist, director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York, graduate of Harvard, with a Ph.D. from Columbia, author and celebrated scientist, TV star — Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson had... Read More
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — In Florida, Republican lawmakers have introduced a bevy of new legislation that will, if passed, restrict certain... Read More
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — In Florida, Republican lawmakers have introduced a bevy of new legislation that will, if passed, restrict certain health educational materials used in state schools. One such bill, House Bill 1069, would limit children below sixth grade from discussing their menstrual cycles in school. ... Read More
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — It almost seems here in Washington that the debate over energy, over the future of fossil... Read More
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — It almost seems here in Washington that the debate over energy, over the future of fossil fuels versus renewables, never changes. Most everyone these days will advocate for an “all of the above” solution to meet the nation’s future energy needs and... Read More