Trump Revives Fight Over $937,989 Fine in Failed Clinton Suit

trump revives fight over $937,989 fine in failed clinton suit

Donald Trump

(Bloomberg) — Donald Trump is battling to reverse a $937,989 fine levied against him by a federal judge in Florida last year for bringing “frivolous” claims against Hillary Clinton — yet another effort by the former president to fight a string of costly courtroom losses.

Trump and his lawyer Alina Habba, who are jointly liable for the Florida fine, on Tuesday urged the federal appeals court in Atlanta to vacate a sanction they say was a “clear error” made by a politically biased judge. Trump is the Republican frontrunner in the 2024 presidential election.

US District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks, an appointee of former President Bill Clinton, imposed the penalty in January 2023 after concluding Trump was “using the courts as a stage set for political theater and grievance” by bringing the suit. The judge said “no reasonable lawyer would have filed it.”

Trump posted a bond of $1.03 million — or 110% of the fine — while appealing. That’s an arrangement he’ll soon have to replicate to challenge about $540 million he owes after losing a civil fraud suit brought by the New York attorney general and a defamation case in Manhattan by the writer E. Jean Carroll. Habba represented Trump in those cases, too.

The fine imposed by Middlebrooks is small compared with the two New York cases. Trump lost the civil fraud trial Feb. 16, when a judge ordered him to pay $454 million. Accrued interest alone on that verdict is growing by $111,983 every day he doesn’t pay.

In challenging the Florida court penalty, Trump and Habba are doubling down on their claim that Clinton led a vast conspiracy against Trump by working with the FBI and others to advance false Russia-related claims against him while he was in office.

A panel of three judges in Atlanta will decide whether to reverse the fine or even revive the suit against Clinton, which Middlebrooks eviscerated in his ruling to dismiss the complaint.

“Its inadequacy as a legal claim was evident from the start,” the judge said when issuing the sanctions. “No reasonable lawyer would have filed it. Intended for a political purpose, none of the counts of the amended complaint stated a cognizable legal claim.”

But Trump and Habba argue in their appeals court filing that Middlebrooks failed to give them due process to fight the fine before it was levied. They also argue the judge failed earlier in the case to recuse himself after Trump claimed Middlebrooks couldn’t be fair.

The sanctions fight could ultimately make its way to the US Supreme Court.

Most Read from Bloomberg

    ©2024 Bloomberg L.P.

    News Related

    OTHER NEWS

    Lawsuit seeks $16 million against Maryland county over death of pet dog shot by police

    A department investigator accused two of the officers of “conduct unbecoming an officer” for entering the apartment without a warrant, but the third officer was cleared of wrongdoing, the suit says. Read more »

    Heidi Klum shares rare photo of all 4 of her and Seal's kids

    Heidi Klum posted a rare picture with husband Tom Kaulitz and her four kids: Leni, 19, Henry, 18, Johan, 17, and Lou, 14, having some quality family time. Read more »

    European stocks head for flat open as markets struggle to find momentum

    This is CNBC’s live blog covering European markets. European markets are heading for a flat open Tuesday, continuing lackluster sentiment seen at the start of the week in the region ... Read more »

    Linda C. Black Horoscopes: November 28

    Nancy Black Today’s Birthday (11/28/23). This year energizes your work and health. Faithful domestic routines provide central support. Shift directions to balance your work and health, before adapting around team ... Read more »

    Michigan Democrats poised to test ambitious environmental goals in the industrial Midwest

    FILE – One of more than 4,000 solar panels constructed by DTE Energy lines a 9.37-acre swath of land in Ann Arbor Township, Mich., Sept. 15, 2015. Michigan will join ... Read more »

    Gaza Is Falling Into ‘Absolute Chaos,’ Aid Groups Say

    A shaky cease-fire between Israel and Hamas has allowed a surge of aid to reach Palestinians in Gaza, but humanitarian groups and civilians in the enclave say the convoys aren’t ... Read more »

    Bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families to march together in anti-hate vigil

    Demonstrators march against the rise of antisemitism in the UK on Sunday – SUSANNAH IRELAND/REUTERS Bereaved Israeli and Palestinian families will march together as part of an anti-hate vigil on ... Read more »
    Top List in the World