Donald Trump and one of his attorneys have been fined nearly $1 million after a Florida judge found a false legal claim against Hillary Clinton and her top advisers.
The verdict ordered the former US President and his attorney, Alina Habba, to pay the defendants nearly $938,000 (£758,626) in the case after claiming they were conspiring to influence the outcome of his successful presidential campaign by collaborating with Russia.
Following the sanction, Mr Trump withdrew his Trial of New York Attorney General Letitia Jameswhich was first submitted in 2021.
US District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks, who first dismissed the case in September, called the lawsuit against Trump’s 2016 rival, Ms Clinton, former senior FBI officials and the Democratic Party “completely frivolous, both in fact and in law” and as one which “amounts to obstruction of justice”.
Citing other legal actions Mr Trump is involved in, Mr Middlebrooks described the former president as a “prolific and sophisticated litigator” who uses the courts “to exact revenge on political opponents”.
“He is the mastermind behind the strategic abuse of the court process,” added Mr Middlebrooks.
A spokesman for Mr Trump and Ms Habba did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump vs. New York Attorney General
Mr Middlebrooks was also the judge who heard the lawsuit Mr Trump filed against Ms James.
The Attorney General examined whether the The Trump Organization falsely reported real estate values to obtain credit and receive tax and economic benefits.
After Mr Trump was first sued by Ms James, Mr Trump alleged that the Attorney General violated the constitutional right of the Trump Organization by conducting a politically motivated investigation and branding it a “witch hunt”.
Irritatedly, Mr Middlebrooks wrote of the lawsuit: “This lawsuit has all the telltale signs of being both annoying and reckless.”
Trump vs. CNN
In another legal case, Mr. Trump sued Media conglomerate CNN for defamation in October last year.
He is seeking $475million (£420million) in punitive damages and claims the network ran a “slander and defamation campaign” against him.
In the 29-page lawsuit, Mr Trump claimed that CNN has long criticized him but has stepped up its attacks in recent months because the network feared he would run for the presidency again in 2024.
