Friday, January 20, 2023

Another judge imposes sanctions on Trump's lawyers; but this time Trump himself may have to pay too

It can't be a good thing for the petitioner when the opinion of the court starts by saying "This case should never have been brought. Its inadequacy as a legal claim was evident from the start. No reasonable lawyer would have filed it." 

Those are the first lines in an order filed yesterday by US District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks in a case filed by Donald Trump against Hilary Clinton.  

And,  as you would expect, the result was not favorable to the petitioner.  In fact, in the end the judge concluded that "Plaintiff Donald J. Trump and Plaintiff’s lead attorney—Alina Habba and Habba Madaio & Associates—are jointly and severally liable for $937,989.39."

Ouch!   Jointly and severally liable.  That means that Trump himself may have to pay part or all of that sanction.   

You can read the full order here.  The Guardian has the story here.

UPDATE (1/21):  More coverage here.

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