Donald Trump, a former US president, was fined over $1 million for bringing a “frivolous” lawsuit against Hillary Clinton, a former US secretary of state.
According to The Washington Post, Trump filed a lawsuit against Clinton, former FBI director James Comey, and other officials for their alleged attempt to rig the 2016 election.
In 2016, Hillary Clinton, the wife of former US President Bill Clinton, ran for president on the Democratic party.
In his decision, a federal judge in Florida penalized Trump and his counsel $1 million in response to the accusations.
According to TWP, Southern District of Florida Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks wrote, “This case should never have been initiated. Its inadequateness as a legal claim was immediately apparent.
Middlebrooks claimed that the former president had demonstrated a “pattern” of abusing the legal system to further his political goals and that this was why sanctions were required.
“No reasonable lawyer would have filed it. Intended for a political purpose, none of the counts of the amended complaint stated a cognisable legal claim.
“A continuing pattern of misuse of the courts by Mr Trump and his lawyers undermines the rule of law, portrays judges as partisans, and diverts resources from those who have suffered actual legal harm.
“He is the mastermind of strategic abuse of the judicial process, and he cannot be seen as a litigant blindly following the advice of a lawyer.”
The judge ruled that Trump and his lawyer Alina Habba would be jointly liable for $937,989 in sanctions. “The amount of fees awarded in this case, while reasonable, is substantial,” judge Middlebrooks wrote.