$1 Million Fine Against Presidential Candidate Trump Because Of Hillary Clinton
On Thursday, a US federal judge fined former President Donald Trump and his lawyer nearly $1 million for filing an "absurd" lawsuit against Hillary Clinton for attempted fraud in the 2016 presidential election.
Judge John Middlebrooks ruled that the Republican billionaire, who hopes to return to the White House in 2024, committed "abuse of the courts" by filing a lawsuit for "dishonestly spreading a political narrative."
The complaint, which Judge Middlebrooks dismissed last year, alleges that Clinton and others tried to convince the public that the Trump campaign was run with Russian collusion.
The former president, from his opponent whom he defeated in the November 2016 presidential elections, demanded $70 million in compensation.
In his 45-page ruling, the judge considered that this complaint "should never have been filed".
"Its inadequacy as a legal complaint was evident from the outset. No reasonable lawyer would have submitted it. Its purpose is political, and none of the arguments in the complaint constitute an admissible legal claim," the judge wrote.
Trump and his attorney, Alina Haba, were jointly and severally ordered to pay $937,989.39 to cover the legal costs of the opposing party.
Donald Trump "has repeatedly used the courts to exact revenge on his political opponents," Judge Middlebrooks wrote.
He added, "He is a mastermind who deflected the course of the judicial process in a strategic way, and he cannot be considered a plaintiff who blindly followed the advice of his lawyers. He was well aware of the impact of his actions."
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