Judge tosses Trump lawsuit against Hillary Clinton, dismisses it as ‘manifesto’
A judge on Friday dismissed former President Trump’s lawsuit against his 2016 Democratic presidential opponent, Hillary Clinton, calling it a “political manifesto.”
“Plaintiff is not attempting to seek redress for any legal harm,” Judge Donald Middlebrooks, who was appointed by Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, wrote.
He continued: “Instead, he is seeking to flaunt a two-hundred-page political manifesto outlining his grievances against those that have opposed him, and this Court is not the appropriate forum.”
Trump’s lawsuit took issue with Hillary Clinton as well as the Democratic National Committee, various former FBI officials and others, saying that they “orchestrated a malicious conspiracy to disseminate patently false and injurious information” when they made claims that Trump had ties to Russia during his 2016 campaign.
However, Middlebrooks argued that most of Trump’s arguments “are not only unsupported by any legal authority but plainly foreclosed by binding precedent.”
“What [Trump’s lawsuit] lacks in substance and legal support it seeks to substitute with length, hyperbole, and the settling of scores and grievances,” he continued.
A spokesperson for Trump responded to the ruling, saying that the former president and his team “vehemently disagree” with the opinion.
“Not only is it rife with erroneous applications of the law, it disregards the numerous independent governmental investigations which substantiate our claim that the defendants conspired to falsely implicate our client and undermine the 2016 Presidential election,” she wrote.
Knight added that Trump would “immediately” move to appeal the decision.
Trump first filed the lawsuit on March 24, more than five years after his election as president.
Other notable defendants include former FBI Director James Comey and former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.
Updated Sept. 10, 10:14 a.m.
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