Justice considered that the republican billionaire had committed an “abusive use of the courts” by intenting a legal action “in order to make a dishonest advance a political story”.
MO12345LEMONDE with AFP
Nearly $ 1 million fine. This is the sum to which the former President of the United States Donald Trump and his lawyer were sentenced on Thursday, January 19, for having brought a “futile” trial to Hillary Clinton by accusing him of attempted cheating to the presidential election from 2016. The judgment jointly condemns Mr. Trump and Alina Habba to pay 937,989.39 dollars to cover the legal costs of the opposing party.
Judge John Middlebrooks estimated that the republican billionaire, who hopes to return to the White House in 2024, had committed “abusive use of the courts” by intending legal action “in order to make a dishonest a political story advance “.
The request, that judge Middlebrooks had rejected last year, said that M Me Clinton and other people had tried to persuade the public that Mr. Trump’s campaign benefited from support of Russia.
a “prolific and sophisticated litigant”
The former president claimed $ 70 million in damages from his former rival, whom he had finally beaten in the presidential election in November 2016. This action “should never have been brought,” said the magistrate In his 45 -page judgment, explaining:
“His insufficiency as a legal appeal was obvious from the start. No reasonable lawyer would have filed it. Intended for a political goal, the arguments of the complaint showed no admissible legal request.”
Donald Trump is a “prolific and sophisticated litigant who repeatedly uses the courts to take revenge on his political opponents, wrote the Middlebrooks judge. He is the project manager of a strategic deviation from the judicial process, And he cannot be considered as a litigant who would blindly follow the advice of a lawyer. He knew perfectly the impact of his actions. “