Dem
51
GOP
49
Donald Trump has been abusing the judicial system for his entire adult life. And he's been enabled in that by attorneys who are more than willing to take his money to do so. Well, the ones he pays, that is.
For a long time, the former president was pretty good at keeping his lawsuits within the bounds of reason, such that, even if he lost, he didn't suffer any sanctions. However, he's gotten reckless in the last few years. Is that because he's desperate? Because the cheese is slipping off the cracker? Because he needs to pursue a few outrageous torts in order to gin up (and fleece) the base? Who knows?
One of the most ridiculous lawsuits filed by Trump (among a veritable plethora of potential candidates) was the one seeking $70 million from Hillary Clinton and a bunch of other Democrats. The basic claim was that during the 2016 election, Clinton, et al., tried to "weave a false narrative" that Trump was conspiring with the Russians, and that he was badly damaged as a result.
We don't know how far into law school you have to get before you can see this suit is utter nonsense. A week? A day? An hour? The first 5 minutes? To start, during a political campaign, there are incredibly broad protections for saying mean things about one's opponents. It's nearly impossible to be guilty of defamation in that context and, if it is, "She's a criminal and should be locked up" is worse than "He's working with the Russians." Meanwhile, as to the question of damages, well... he won that election. And if his reputation has taken a dive since he became a politician, let's just say that Hillary Clinton is not the 2016 major-party presidential candidate who is responsible for that.
Trump's suit against Clinton was tossed many months ago. However, that wasn't tne end of the bad news, because this week, Judge John Middlebrooks slapped the former president and his lead counsel (Alina Habba) with nearly $1 million in fines. In his decision, he wrote; "We are confronted with a lawsuit that should never have been filed, which was completely frivolous, both factually and legally, and which was brought in bad faith for an improper purpose." In other words, it was an easy call for him.
So, Trump shot for +$70 million and he ended up -$1 million, give or take. There's that vaunted The Art of the Deal business skill showing itself. And it couldn't happen to a more worthy abuser of process. (Z)