Former US President Donald Trump has been fined nearly $1 million over a lawsuit against Hillary Clinton. Trump shows an “enduring pattern of judicial abuse” and filed the lawsuit “to dishonestly promote a political narrative,” Judge John Middlebrooks said on Thursday.
In the lawsuit, which Middlebrooks rejected last year, Trump accused Clinton of attempting to rig the 2016 presidential election. He accused his then-rival of wanting to convince the public that he had cooperated with Russia in his election campaign and demanded $70 million. in damage. Clinton lost to Trump in the 2016 presidential election.
The lawsuit “should never have been filed,” Middlebrooks said in the court order. Its unsuitability as an appeal was evident from the outset, and “no reasonable attorney would have brought it,” the judge wrote. Trump is “a sophisticated litigator who repeatedly uses the courts to exact revenge on political opponents”.
Trump and his lawyer Alina Habba were sentenced to a total fine of nearly $938,000 (€867,000). (apa/afp)