Donald Trump got smacked around in court this week thanks to his now-officially frivolous lawsuit against Hillary Clinton. That lawsuit was dismissed back in September 2022 by order of a scathing 65 page rebuke from the judge. However, Trump’s loss didn’t end there. On Thursday, a district judge approved the request for sanctions by Clinton and others named in Trump’s lawsuit. The judge’s decision put Trump and his attorneys on the line for nearly $1 million in fines for the “abusive litigation tactics.”
Via CNN:
“This case should never have been brought. Its inadequacy as a legal claim was evident from the start,” US District Judge Donald Middlebrooks of the Southern District of Florida wrote. “No reasonable lawyer would have filed it. Intended for a political purpose, none of the counts of the amended complaint stated a cognizable legal claim.”
According to The Daily Beast, the sanctions from the Clinton lawsuit has reportedly put Trump in “full retreat mode.” On Friday, he withdrew his lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James. The lawsuit was roundly criticized by legal scholars a “bald-faced delay tactic.” The former president and his legal team quietly backed out of the effort following the Clinton decision:
The filing, made in Palm Beach County court, was curt—it merely stated that Trump “hereby voluntarily dismisses his claims in this action.” There was no explanation given.
But the cryptic move comes as Trump’s legal woes are mounting: judges have increasingly taken tougher stances against him for misusing the nation’s court system to slow down legitimate law enforcement efforts against him.
Of course, losing in court should be old hat to Trump by now. His numerous legal attempts to overturn the 2020 election results were routinely slapped down by judges, and he has been facing increased legal jeopardy as James continues to target the allegedly dicey business practices of the Trump Organization. In short, not a lot of winning. Coming up awfully short in the winning department.
(Via CNN, The Daily Beast)