A federal court has ruled that former President Donald Trump and his former lawyer, Alina Habba, are still responsible for a $1 million penalty for filing a frivolous lawsuit against Hillary Clinton, James Comey, and other high-profile figures. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a previous 2023 ruling that had initially ordered Trump and Habba to pay the fine, which the pair had appealed. The court’s decision reinforces the legal consequences of filing baseless legal actions, particularly in the political arena.
The lawsuit in question was tied to Trump’s contentious claims of Russian collusion, which were part of a broader narrative he promoted during his campaign and presidency. The original case, which was later dismissed, accused Clinton, Comey, and others of conspiring to undermine his 2016 presidential campaign. In 2023, a federal judge ruled that the lawsuit was not only legally flawed but also filed in bad faith. The ruling was recently reaffirmed by the appeals court, which denied Trump and Habba’s appeal.
Trump and Habba, who now serves as U.S. attorney for New Jersey, are required to pay approximately $938,000, which will be distributed among the dozens of individuals named in the lawsuit. This financial burden is part of a broader legal landscape where Trump has faced multiple lawsuits and penalties for actions deemed unethical or legally unsound.
In addition to Clinton and Comey, the lawsuit also targeted Senator Adam Schiff, former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, along with many others. Judge Donald Middlebrooks, who authored the 2023 ruling, criticized Trump for using the legal system as a tool for vengeance against political adversaries. The court emphasized that Trump’s actions represent a pattern of strategic abuse of the judicial process, which cannot be tolerated in the legal system.
Recent developments in the case have also included a separate ruling where a federal judge dismissed false statements charges against Comey, citing the unqualified nature of the U.S. attorney who filed the case. This case involved Lindsay Halligan, who was appointed by Trump to the position only weeks before filing the charges. The judge who dismissed the charges was a Clinton appointee, which has raised further questions about the political dynamics influencing legal outcomes in the case.