James Stanton
Ken WhiteNearly one million dollars in sanctions. Wow.
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.610157/gov.uscourts.flsd.610157.302.0.pdf
Anathema Device@Popehat it's a good start
mtsw@Popehat (dr. evil voice)
Sarah Burris 
@Popehat holy shirt balls
Miles Offit... šØš¦šŖšŗšŗš¦@Popehat Can that be appealed?
eigenman 
@Popehat Winning lol.
hammancheez@Popehat the funniest thing I read on this was some tweetlord saying āa million is chump change for Trumpā like Trump would pay lawyerās sanctions
Iron Curtain (Chiptunes)@hammancheez @Popehat Thank you for "tweetlord". Did you make that up, or should I credit someone else for coining it but you for popularizing it?
@IronCurtain @Popehat I was gonna say shitlord but I didnāt want to give Mr Popehat the vapors
@hammancheez @Popehat Having watched the sublime FX-on-Hulu series Reservation Dogs, I suggest "shitass" instead (possibly coined by Zahn McClarnon)
cohomology is FUN!@hammancheez @Popehat the judge sanctioned Trump too, not just his lawyers
Daniel Nazer@hammancheez @Popehat yes! And I'd guess he will get away with dumping this on his lawyers. If it's upheld on appeal, the lawyers have to make sure it gets paid to avoid further sanctions that would impact their legal careers. Trump doesn't have the same problem and can probably find more toady lawyers to fight his current ones if needed. So these lawyers are in a very bad place ... one they 100% deserve to be in.
@Popehat That's not just mala fide, that's pessima fide!
Avram Grumer š²@Popehat āThis 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.ā
Michael OāNeal
Countless Screaming Argonauts
Dawn@avram @Popehat Someone should finish line editing the judge's poem for him. Here's a start.
* This Case Should Never Have Been Brought *
by The U.S. Southern District Court of Florida
Inadequacy made evident from the start
that these lawyers would not play it smart,
suing for political aim
when none of the counts
even amounts
to a cognizable legal claim.
Thirty-one individuals and entitiesā
I think youāll recall their identitiesā
endured needless harm
from dishonest alarm
1/2
all for a political narrative.
Their misuse of the courts
undermines the rule of law,
fashions judges out of straw,
and diverts a limited resource
from filers in honest need of recourse.
As for Plaintiff J. Trump and his attorney at the crux:
Thatāll be one million bucks.
2/2
Quanah Schlesselman
TheNP
Ipstenu (Mika E.) š³ļøāš@Popehat Will that pay off all his outstanding legal fees?
christopher carfi
pdoconnell@Popehat oof "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. See Byrne, 261 F.3d at 1121. As such, I find that sanctions [of $938,000] should be imposed upon Mr. Trump and his lead counsel, Ms. Habba"
The entire decision is brutal
The entire decision is brutal
@pdoconnell @Popehat and we love it.
Brandon
Allen B. Skye@Popehat Iām assuming by the āwowā that sanctions this large arenāt common, but is this extremely raee?
Eric Fox@Popehat I may need to pour a nice scotch before reading this one.
Rob needs sci-fi ššø@Popehat he more than made up for it in fundraising, and will make more now. āBIASED JUDGE GOES AFTER YOUR FAVORITE PRESIDENT! DONATE HERE!ā
Not Not Michael Martin@Popehat Wow, that is an amazing read. I started just to get an overview but it was impossible to stop. Just seeing someone in the judiciary laying out the plain, obvious truth about Trump and his lawsuits. Wow.
JH@Popehat They fucked all the way up
Nicholas Weaver@Popehat
Qn: Does the "joint and several liability" between Trump and his attorney mean they get to fight each other to see who gets stuck with the bill?
Qn: Does the "joint and several liability" between Trump and his attorney mean they get to fight each other to see who gets stuck with the bill?
MacCruiskeen
Ansel Halliburton
Lizard@Popehat
And thus, schadengasm ensues.
And thus, schadengasm ensues.
ironicdude1
Michelle L-M@Popehat So, what does "jointly and severally liable" mean? I know what I think it means, but I'd appreciate a clarification, please.
Rob Pomeroy@biblioscholar @Popehat It means Trump and his lawyer fight between themselves over who pays. And if no one pays, it's off to jail for them.
Perhaps the judge was looking forward (with popcorn) to the ensuing fight?
(Joint & several = each one fully responsible for the whole.)
Adrian Segar@Popehat I love the final footnote:
"ā¦should Plaintiff or Plaintiffās lawyer (and law firm) believe that the amount would seriously jeopardize their financial status, see, e.g., Baker v Alderman, 158 F. 3d 516 (11th Cir. 1998), that individual or firm should file within ten (10) days of this Order, under seal, a verified statement of net worth which includes assets and liabilities."
"ā¦should Plaintiff or Plaintiffās lawyer (and law firm) believe that the amount would seriously jeopardize their financial status, see, e.g., Baker v Alderman, 158 F. 3d 516 (11th Cir. 1998), that individual or firm should file within ten (10) days of this Order, under seal, a verified statement of net worth which includes assets and liabilities."
Dan@Popehat The most Trump-like next step will be for Trump and his Renfield attorneys to now sue the Judge for defaming them in this sanctions writing.
curtosis@Popehat And nearly THREE PAGES of āthis is *so* not RICOā.
Radix@Popehat "This suit was filed for equally improper purposesāto harass and punish, for fundraising, and to advance a political agenda."
The frustrating part is that the sanctions could be 50x higher, and it would still be profitable to file bs suits. The grift is unstoppable.
Doremus Jessup
geerue@Popehat
That was a good read! I like Middlebrooks' lofty tone defending our system of justice (not just defendants) against such sloppy, shotgun, political lawsuits.
That was a good read! I like Middlebrooks' lofty tone defending our system of justice (not just defendants) against such sloppy, shotgun, political lawsuits.
bazzargh@Popehat itās 46 pages. Getting all this bad faith written down seems to shout ācite meā in a way that may eventually hurt more than the sanctions themselves?
Kevin Sours@Popehat And an official finding of "It's not RICO"
Paul Wiebe šššØš¦š³ļøāš@Popehat Since it is joint liability and she is on record about her client saying not to proceed but doing so anyhow, and TFG's reputation for not paying his bills, she is going to have to pay the whole bill. Or will that come out of one of the grift accounts?
Comrade elronxenu@Popehat Sucks to be Trump's lawyers. I hope it costs them more than they earned in fees.
Wolf Lawyer@Popehat sometimes Iāve had client pressure to raise an arguable-but-not-good point and I feel like despite my best efforts people can tell I donāt want to do it.
I canāt imagine the series of events and catastrophic head injuries it would take for me to go on TV and tell people that my client told me not to make the ridiculous argument but I persisted anyway.
John Eddy@Popehat I'm willing to cover the $0.39 for the sheer joy the rest of it brings.
@Popehat Poor Trump/lawyer. Couldn't happen to nicer people.
(Sarcasm.)
Alexander Ruthol@Popehat
Two days worth of Trump fundraising off of his court cases.
Two days worth of Trump fundraising off of his court cases.
nadezhda@Je5usaurus_rex @Popehat But will Trump share his fundraising pot with his lawyer to pay the sanction? Or take her part out of the fees sheās billing him? Heās not big on sharing contributions, and I bet heās tempted to āblameā her for his getting hit with such an unexpected bill.
Still, the lawsuits she files for him give him a chance to have his lawyer on all the TV shows āfighting for him.ā Keeps his fans fired up against those dastardly traitorous Dems & is new content for his Truths
Cat West@Popehat I have a feeling this isnāt the last sanctions. All those court case filed are susceptible to sanctions now. It wouldnāt surprise me if all of a sudden his lawyers start ādropping suitā, thinking that will get them out of being sanctioned. It wonāt.
Paul Leader@Popehat Will the "joint and severally liable" mean that when Trump inevitably refuses to pay the whole lot will fall on the lawyers?
Given how he treats the people who work for him I'm amazed there were any lawyers willing to represent him.
Thad@Popehat The judge continued, "I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."
Live, Laugh, Lovecraft@Popehat How's he going to refuse to pay this?
Justin du Coeur@Popehat Wow indeed.
"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."
And that's just the beginning - that is one pissed-off judge...