Trump ordered to pay $1 million fine by federal court
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a $1 million fine against former President Donald Trump and his attorney Alina Habba for filing a racketeering lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and former FBI Director James Comey that contained frivolous claims. The penalty, initially imposed by U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks in January 2023, was based on the court’s finding that Trump’s lawsuit was a “political manifesto” filled with baseless allegations inappropriate for court. The unanimous ruling, delivered by a three-judge panel including judges appointed by both Republican and Democratic presidents, affirmed that many of the legal arguments were without merit and constituted sanctionable conduct. While the court upheld the fine, it denied additional sanctions related to the appeal. Trump’s legal team criticized the decision, calling it part of a “Democrat-led witch hunt” and vowed to continue fighting. This ruling marks Trump’s second recent defeat in the 11th Circuit, which also rejected his attempt to revive a separate lawsuit against CNN regarding election-related claims.
Court upholds $1 million fine for Trump’s ‘frivolous’ Hillary Clinton lawsuit
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a $1 million fine against President Donald Trump and his attorney Alina Habba on Wednesday for their “sanctionable conduct” over a racketeering lawsuit made up of “frivolous” claims.
The fine was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Donald Middlebrooks in January 2023 after Trump sued Hillary Clinton and former FBI Director James Comey over allegations of his campaign’s ties to Russia in the 2016 election.
The panel agreed with Middlebrook’s claim in 2022 that Trump violated court rules because the links Trump made against the defendants and the allegations made against them were part of a “political manifesto” which outlined his “grievances” against his political opponents that do not belong in a court.
“I can read this complaint,” Pryor stated. “It seems like a classic shotgun complaint. It incorporates, by reference, hundreds of paragraphs into succeeding counts.”
“Many of Trump’s and Habba’s legal arguments were indeed frivolous,” 11th Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge William Pryor Jr., appointed by former President George W. Bush, agreed in the unanimous decision of the three-judge panel published Wednesday.
The other two judges in the panel, which included Trump-appointed judge Andrew Brasher and President Joe Biden-appointed judge Embry Kidd, added that parts of the president’s initial lawsuit were “frivolous.”
While they affirmed the order for the original sanctions, the judges denied the imposition of additional sanctions as a result of the appeal.
“Trump’s remaining claims are untimely and otherwise meritless, we affirm the dismissal of the amended complaint with prejudice for the other defendants,” the panel added.
The panel stated they considered Trump’s “pattern of misusing the courts” when making their final decision. They agreed with the dollar amount ordered previously based on the total amount of fees associated with the lawsuits, which came out to $937,989.39.
Trump’s legal team refuted the decision in a statement to the Washington Examiner, stating that they will not give up on the fight against the “Democrat-led witch hunt.”
“President Trump continues to fight back against all Democrat-led Witch Hunts, including the ‘Russia, Russia, Russia’ hoax and the un-Constitutional and un-American weaponization of our justice system by Crooked Joe Biden and his handlers,” a spokesperson of the president’s legal team said. “President Trump will continue to pursue this matter to its just and rightful conclusion.”
The ruling handed the president his second defeat from the same court this month.
JUDGE SLAMS TRUMP AND LAWYERS FOR HILLARY CLINTON LAWSUIT
A different panel in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Trump’s attempt to reinstate a lawsuit against CNN for describing his attempt to circumvent the outcome of the 2020 election as the “Big Lie,” which the court described as “meritless.”
“CNN’s subjective assessment of Trump’s conduct is not readily capable of being proven true or False,” the panel, composed of former President Barack Obama-appointed judge Adalberto Jordan and Trump-appointed Kevin Newsom and Elizabeth Branch, wrote in their decision.
" Conservative News Daily does not always share or support the views and opinions expressed here; they are just those of the writer."
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
