General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThis is priceless! From the Court's decision in TRUMP v. HILLARY CLINTON
It came out yesterday, 19 January 2023
US District Court, So. District of Florida
DONALD J. TRUMP Plaintiff, v. HILLARY R. CLINTON, et al., Defendants.
After waiting six years, in a suit filed in March of 2022, Trump alleged that Hillary Clinton and others had orchestrated a malicious conspiracy to spread false information that his campaign had colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential race. The one he claimed he "won" that was actually given to him by legal default.
So how'd that turn out...?
U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks, in a searing 46-page judgment wrote Trump is a prolific and sophisticated litigant who is repeatedly using the courts to seek revenge on political adversaries.
That's our boy!
Let's start with Page ONE of the Court's decision:
"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. Intended for a political purpose, none of the counts of the amended complaint stated a cognizable legal claim. Thirty-one individuals and entities were needlessly harmed in order to dishonestly advance a political narrative. A continuing pattern of misuse of the courts by Mr. Trump and his lawyers undermines the rule of law, portrays judges as partisans, and diverts resources from those who have suffered actual legal harm. - Case 2:22-cv-14102-DMM, Page 1.
Whoa!!! And that's just the opening paragraph! It can only get worse and it does - here:
"...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. Mr. Trump is a prolific and sophisticated litigant who is repeatedly using the courts to seek revenge on political adversaries. He is the mastermind of strategic abuse of the judicial process, and he cannot be seen as a litigant blindly following the advice of a lawyer. He knew full well the impact of his actions. As such, I find that sanctions should be imposed upon Mr. Trump and his lead counsel, Ms. Habba." - Case 2:22-cv-14102-DMM, Page 6.
BOOM! Trump and his parking lot real estate lawyer, Alina Habba, have been fined almost $1 million by the judge!
More deliciousness from the dish-best-served-cold; the Judge:
"The deliberate use of a shotgun pleading is an abusive litigation tactic which amounts to obstruction of justice. This case involved three categories of shotgun pleadings condemned by the Eleventh Circuit. ...I find that the pleadings here were abusive litigation tactics. The Complaint and Amended Complaint were drafted to advance a political narrative; not to address legal harm caused by any Defendant.
The 819 paragraphs of the 186-page Amended Complaint are filled with immaterial, conclusory facts not connected to any particular cause of action." - Case 2:22-cv-14102-DMM, pages 6-7.
In their Amended Complaint, Trump and Habba cited a letter from the Director of National Intelligence, John Ratcliff, to Senator Lindsey Graham as evidence of a false collusion:
"Ratcliffs letter stated that Clinton and her campaign conceived the false Russia collision [sic] story to protect Clintons presidential bid, which was at the time, in trouble because of revelations about her illegally using a private email server to handle classified information. Ratcliff confirmed in the letter that Obama, Comey and Strzok knew about it. - Case 2:22-cv-14102-DMM, page 8.
And the Coup de Grace! You read the Judge's personal footnote on that:
"This provocative allegation stirred my curiosity, so I looked up the Ratcliff letter. The allegation in the Amended Complaint fails to mention that the information came from a Russian intelligence analysis and that Mr. Ratcliffe commented:
The (intelligence community) does not know the accuracy of this allegation or the extent to which the Russian intelligence analysis may reflect exaggeration or fabrication. - Letter from John Ratcliff, to Sen. Lindsey Graham, Sept. 29, 2020, almost four years after the election."
NB: In 2016 when this 'conspiracy' allegedly took place, Ratcliff was not Director of National Intelligence, he was a not-so-great member of Congress and Reich-wing toady.
"Mr. Trumps lawyers saw no professional impediment or irony in relying upon Russian intelligence as the good faith basis for their allegation.
Trump used RUSSIAN INTELLIGENCE to back his claim and attack U.S. citizens. That's balls of solid brass. No wonder the Judge was pissed.
Read it all here: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.610157/gov.uscourts.flsd.610157.302.0.pdf
Botany
(70,811 posts)Trump is a prolific and sophisticated litigant who is repeatedly using the courts to seek revenge on political adversaries.
"The deliberate use of a shotgun pleading is an abusive litigation tactic which amounts to obstruction of justice. This case involved three categories of shotgun pleadings condemned by the Eleventh Circuit. ...I find that the pleadings here were abusive litigation tactics. The Complaint and Amended Complaint were drafted to advance a political narrative; not to address legal harm caused by any Defendant."
Why is he still walking free? BTW McCarthy, Scalise, Paul Ryan, and McConnell were all well aware of Trump's
ties to Russia and Putin in 2016.
That is why. And, this has worked regardless of whether or not he actually has the money he says he does. This is just how in awe we are of those who have a lot of the green god.
markodochartaigh
(1,244 posts)is on the $10,000 bill. Naturally a bankster would rank above politicians. I think that the platinum one trillion dollar coin should be minted and put Trump on it. When the Republicans ask why he is on it, tell them that it is because far more US debt is his than any other president.
OldBaldy1701E
(5,291 posts)smb
(3,498 posts)Alexander Of Assyria
(7,839 posts)Kraken State Law School, anyone know where it is?
She keeps saying you cant make this stuff up
and promptly makes stuff up, deceives the court and outright lies
.over and over.
Cha
(298,835 posts)"Brass balls.." Or STUPID As a Fucking Sack of Shite!
"So much Winning.." eh, Asshole?
Abigail_Adams
(309 posts)to cite Habba as well. As another thread mentioned, that should serve notice to any sane lawyer to not represent Trump. She should be suspended from the bar.
SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)SergeStorms
(19,214 posts)Roy Cohn. Cohn was one of the biggest swindlers known to man. He taught DJT everything he knows. Then, when Cohn was dying from AIDS, DJT completely abandoned him. Never visited him in the hospital, wouldn't return Cohn's phone calls, didn't even attend Cohn's funeral.
That's what sort of "friend" DJT is.
It's about time the judicial system made him pay back a tiny fraction of what he's cost thousands of people, and the courts, with his weaponized use of frivolous lawsuits.
H2O Man
(73,920 posts)Justice matters.
(6,989 posts)H2O Man
(73,920 posts)Powerful!
LudwigPastorius
(9,406 posts)liberalmuse
(18,672 posts)WAY more!
herding cats
(19,574 posts)Thanks for sharing the delicious specifics.
Eyeball_Kid
(7,460 posts)and he demonstrates again that hes heavily biased toward all things RUSSIA. Hes a Russian agent.
SouthernDem4ever
(6,618 posts)He has been acting like a Russian asset since before he was elected.
SouthBayDem
(32,146 posts)Nominated in 1997. https://www.fjc.gov/history/judges/middlebrooks-donald-m
This judge is from Florida, so he probably got a recommendation from then Republican senator Connie Mack III in order to get through a Republican majority judicial committee at the time.
Rhiannon12866
(208,465 posts)asiliveandbreathe
(8,203 posts)That's our boy!.....Grins...
rubbersole
(6,837 posts)Oopsie. "Excuse me Ms. James, I'm taking my balls and going home now."
SergeStorms
(19,214 posts)He's so clueless, he just might.
soldierant
(7,095 posts)and approximately the size of chirch bells (real ones, not electronic.)
FakeNoose
(33,234 posts)I can't wait until Chump starts suing his own lawyers for malpractice.
orleans
(34,164 posts)on edit:
also want to add that this line
"Trump is a prolific and sophisticated litigant"
probably made the douchebag swoon; even tho he just withdrew the suit against james (ala learning his lesson from the $million fine, that is the line he'll remember with pride... and the 2 words (prolific & sophisticated) will puff him up every time it floats through his congested brain
krkaufman
(13,451 posts)because of revelations about her illegally using a private email server to handle classified information
Judge states as fact that Clinton had committed an illegal act.
Emrys
(7,337 posts)Last edited Sat Jan 21, 2023, 12:47 AM - Edit history (1)
shortly before putting it through the legal mincer.
BlueSpot
(865 posts)Sitting in bed, chicken grease dripping from his jowls, clapping his little hands together. "She called me a mastermind!"
Wild blueberry
(6,727 posts)Thank you for the excellent summary.
Harker
(14,193 posts)louis-t
(23,350 posts)COL Mustard
(6,089 posts)Harker
(14,193 posts)calimary
(81,821 posts)COL Mustard
(6,089 posts)Is part of the deep state!
/s, if its needed!!!
Judi Lynn
(160,855 posts)Historic NY
(37,487 posts)MissMillie
(38,665 posts)What I'm getting from it is that TFG and his lawyer send this judge a bunch of gobbledy-gook maybe hoping that he wouldn't read it. Then when the judge read it and ruled against it (specifically telling them what the legal deficiencies are), they sent an amended complaint that was worse than the original.
The judge spends some time mentioning TFG's pattern of filing worthless suits (including the one against James, which has now been withdrawn). Judge thinks it's definitely time to show the Orange Blowhard that the courts will not put up with his nonsense anymore.
There's a footnote that caught my attention that demonstrates the "definition of insanity" (doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result):
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/trump-attorney-alina-habba-joins-maga-inc.
Of course, this insanity applies not only to TFG and Ms. Habba, but to every single MAGA nitwit that keeps donating to fund these completely absurd lawsuits.
calimary
(81,821 posts)But its a delicious read, throughout! Both the writing AND what the writings about. Absolutely yummy!