The judges ruled that the president’s arguments “were indeed frivolous.”
A federal appeals court has upheld a penalty of nearly $1 million against President Donald Trump and attorney Alina Habba, concluding they committed “sanctionable conduct” by filing a frivolous lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and former FBI Director James Comey.
“Many of Trump’s and Habba’s legal arguments were indeed frivolous,” 11th Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge William Pryor Jr. wrote for a unanimous, three-judge panel, including Trump appointee Andrew Brasher and Biden appointee Embry Kidd.
The Atlanta-based appeals court also rejected Trump’s bid to reinstate the 2022 lawsuit targeting Clinton, Comey and others over allegations about ties between Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and Russia. The lawsuit alleged a broad racketeering conspiracy to conjure up false allegations against his campaign and then instigate investigations like special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe.
And Pryor, a George W. Bush appointee, concluded that the district court judge who originally ruled against Trump had properly considered Trump’s “pattern of misusing the courts” when deciding to sanction Trump and Habba.
The ruling is the latest rejection of Trump’s legal crusade against his perceived adversaries, and the second rebuke by the 11th Circuit in recent days. Last week, a different panel — which included two Trump appointees — shot down Trump’s effort to revive a lawsuit against CNN over its use of the term “Big Lie” to describe his bid to subvert the 2020 election.
Spokespeople for the White House, Trump’s legal team and Habba did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Habba was a private attorney working for Trump at the time she served as lead counsel on the Russia-related lawsuit. She later became a spokesperson for Trump’s legal team. In March of this year, Trump named Habba to serve temporarily as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey. When that appointment was set to expire in July, the administration used an unusual maneuver to keep her in the job. A judge ruled in August that the effort to extend Habba’s term was illegal, but the Justice Department is appealing that decision.
Pryor’s 36-page opinion called Trump’s lawsuit an “abuse of judicial resources.” It echoed the skeptical questions the panel had for Trump’s attorney during oral arguments last week.
U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks, a Bill Clinton appointee based in West Palm Beach, Florida, ordered in January 2023 that Trump and Habba both be held liable for paying the penalty he imposed to recoup legal fees Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee and others incurred to respond to the lawsuit.