Ledger · Between terms · № 161

The racketeering suit against Hillary Clinton that drew a $938,000 sanction

Broken
“[paraphrase] Trump promised to sue Hillary Clinton, the DNC and dozens of others for conspiring to fabricate the Russia collusion story — and filed a 193-page RICO complaint.”
Promised
, Complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
Re-promised
2 times with a fresh deadline
Topic
Justice & the courts
Era
Between terms

What happened

Judge Donald Middlebrooks dismissed the amended complaint as a "shotgun pleading" whose claims were "foreclosed by existing law," writing that "this case should never have been brought" and "no reasonable lawyer would have filed it." In January 2023 he sanctioned Trump and attorney Alina Habba nearly $1 million — $937,989 — for a "continuing pattern" of misusing the courts. The 11th Circuit upheld both the dismissal and the penalty, calling the arguments "frivolous."

Sources

  1. Trump attempts to reverse losses in hush money case and RICO lawsuit against Hillary Clinton CNN, Jul 28, 2023
  2. 'Arguments were indeed frivolous': Appeals court savages and dashes Trump's RICO lawsuit against Hillary Clinton Law & Crime, Jan 1, 2024
  3. DONALD TRUMP v. HILLARY CLINTON (2023) FindLaw, Jan 19, 2023
  4. Personal and business legal affairs of Donald Trump Wikipedia, Jan 1, 2025