WASHINGTON, D.C. — A conservative federal appeals court has unanimously upheld nearly $1 million in sanctions against President Donald Trump and former attorney Alina Habba for filing what judges called a “frivolous” lawsuit targeting Hillary Clinton and other political opponents. The ruling, issued Wednesday by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, marks Trump’s second defeat before the court in recent days, following its refusal to revive his defamation lawsuit against CNN.
The panel — composed of Chief Judge William Pryor Jr., Trump-appointee Andrew Brasher, and Biden-appointee Embry Kidd — found that the district court “did not abuse its discretion” when it sanctioned Trump and Habba for bringing legal claims that judges described as deficient and politically charged. U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks previously dismissed the 2022 lawsuit, calling it a “two-hundred-page political manifesto” that “should never have been filed.”
Middlebrooks later ordered Trump, Habba, and her law firm to pay $937,989 for pursuing litigation he said was brought in bad faith. Pryor’s opinion on Wednesday upheld those findings in full.
Trump’s legal team responded by saying the president would “continue to pursue this matter to its just and rightful conclusion,” signaling the fight may continue. Habba, appointed by Trump as acting U.S. attorney for New Jersey after his reelection, was separately ruled by a federal judge to have served without legal authority, a finding the Justice Department is contesting.
The original lawsuit accused Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey, and others of conspiring to damage Trump during the 2016 election by promoting allegations of Russian collusion.
Sources
• Axios – MBFC Rating
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