Former President Donald Trump has dropped the federal lawsuit he filed in Florida against New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Trump’s lawyers filed a notice of voluntary dismissal in the case with US District Judge Donald Middlebrooks on Friday morning. It came a day after Middlebrooks slapped the former president and his lawyer with $1 million in penalties for pursuing a different «frivolous» lawsuit.
The lawsuit charges that James, who filed a $250 million lawsuit against Trump and his company in New York state court, has «repeatedly abused his position as New York State attorney general to pursue vendetta against the president.» Trump».
Trump had made similar claims against James in state and federal court in New York, all of which were dismissed. The judge in the federal case in New York found that Trump’s allegations that James «conducted an ‘unsubstantiated fishing expedition’ and ‘knowingly asserted that they were not justified under existing law’ are without foundation.»
Middlebrooks denied Trump’s request for an injunction preventing James from obtaining information related to Trump’s Florida trust last month, calling it groundless and unprecedented. In that ruling, he suggested in a footnote that Trump would be wise not to fight the attorney general’s motion to dismiss the case and instead leave the matter up in the air.
«Plaintiff and plaintiff’s attorneys are urged to reconsider their opposition to defendant’s motion to dismiss. This litigation has all the telltale signs of being troublesome and frivolous,» the footnote read.
The motion to dismiss was due to be filed Friday, the attorney general’s office said.
NBC News has reached out to a lawyer and a spokesman for Trump for comment.
Middlebrooks on Thursday awarded Trump and his attorney Alina Habba almost $1 million for filing an expanding lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and other alleged political enemies in March, alleging a massive conspiracy involving dozens of individuals and corporations conspiring against the former president. .
The judge said the lawsuit, which he dismissed in September, «should never have been filed,» finding it «completely frivolous, both in fact and in law» and «filed in bad faith for an improper purpose.»
«Mr. Trump is a prolific and sophisticated litigator who repeatedly uses the courts to exact revenge on his political adversaries. He is the mastermind of the strategic abuse of the judicial process,» Middlebrooks said, pointing to other lawsuits Trump has filed since leaving office to reinforce that position, including his lawsuit against James.
He also noted that Trump has used some of his other lawsuits, including failed actions against Twitter and CNN, in political fundraising campaigns.
“Frivolous lawsuits should not be used as a fundraising vehicle or fodder for rallies or social media. Mr. Trump is using the courts as an arena for political theater and complaints.» Middlebrooks wroteordering Trump and Habba to pay $937,989.39 in penalties for their actions in the Clinton case.