Ella Lee, USA TODAY - Yesterday
WASHINGTON — A lawsuit filed by former President Donald Trump against 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton was tossed out Thursday by a federal judge in Florida who dismissed the former president's legal complaint as a "200-page political manifesto."
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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Democratic
presidential candidate Hillary Clinton debate in St. Louis, Mo., on Oct. 9, 2016
.© PAUL J. RICHARDS, AFP via Getty Images
In a scathing rebuke of Trump's claims, U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks wrote that the lawsuit contained “glaring structural deficiencies” and that many of the “characterizations of events are implausible.”
Middlebrooks also suggested that the lawsuit served as an outlet for Trump to air grievances with his opponents, not a legitimate legal effort.
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"This Court is not the appropriate forum," the federal judge wrote.
Trump v. Clinton: Donald Trump sues Hillary Clinton and the DNC over Russian interference allegations
The 108-page lawsuit, filed in March, claimed that Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey and other top Clinton and FBI officials schemed together to accuse Trump of colluding with Russia to win the 2016 election. It alleged that Clinton and the DNC "worked together with a single self-serving purpose: to vilify Donald J. Trump."
Special counsel Robert Mueller did not find evidence that Trump’s campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the election, but he noted in his report that the campaign was an eager beneficiary of Russia's interference.
The special counsel did not reach a conclusion on whether Trump had obstructed the investigation, but prosecutors found "multiple acts by the President that were capable of exerting undue influence over law enforcement investigations."
Efforts to obstruct the inquiry, Mueller said, "were mostly unsuccessful...largely because the persons who surrounded the president declined to carry out orders or accede to his requests."
Trump lawyer Alina Habba said in a statement that the former president’s legal team “vehemently disagrees” with the Court’s opinion, claiming it’s “rife with erroneous applications of the law.”
“We will immediately move to appeal this decision,” Habba said.
Read the judge's order to dismiss
Trump's legal woes: The lawsuits, investigations and legal troubles a 2024 Trump candidacy faces, explained
Mar-a-Lago search: Judge cites 'reputational harm' to Trump in ordering a Mar-a-Lago special master and pause in investigation
Contributing: Mabinty Quarshie, Kevin Johnson, Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump racketeering lawsuit against Hillary Clinton dismissed as 'political manifesto'
In a scathing rebuke of Trump's claims, U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks wrote that the lawsuit contained “glaring structural deficiencies” and that many of the “characterizations of events are implausible.”
Middlebrooks also suggested that the lawsuit served as an outlet for Trump to air grievances with his opponents, not a legitimate legal effort.
Start the day smarter. Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning.
"This Court is not the appropriate forum," the federal judge wrote.
Trump v. Clinton: Donald Trump sues Hillary Clinton and the DNC over Russian interference allegations
The 108-page lawsuit, filed in March, claimed that Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey and other top Clinton and FBI officials schemed together to accuse Trump of colluding with Russia to win the 2016 election. It alleged that Clinton and the DNC "worked together with a single self-serving purpose: to vilify Donald J. Trump."
Special counsel Robert Mueller did not find evidence that Trump’s campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the election, but he noted in his report that the campaign was an eager beneficiary of Russia's interference.
The special counsel did not reach a conclusion on whether Trump had obstructed the investigation, but prosecutors found "multiple acts by the President that were capable of exerting undue influence over law enforcement investigations."
Efforts to obstruct the inquiry, Mueller said, "were mostly unsuccessful...largely because the persons who surrounded the president declined to carry out orders or accede to his requests."
Trump lawyer Alina Habba said in a statement that the former president’s legal team “vehemently disagrees” with the Court’s opinion, claiming it’s “rife with erroneous applications of the law.”
“We will immediately move to appeal this decision,” Habba said.
Read the judge's order to dismiss
Trump's legal woes: The lawsuits, investigations and legal troubles a 2024 Trump candidacy faces, explained
Mar-a-Lago search: Judge cites 'reputational harm' to Trump in ordering a Mar-a-Lago special master and pause in investigation
Contributing: Mabinty Quarshie, Kevin Johnson, Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump racketeering lawsuit against Hillary Clinton dismissed as 'political manifesto'
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