Jan 20, 2023 - Politics & Policy

Trump drops lawsuit against N.Y. attorney general after judge's rebuke

Former President Trump at Mar-a-Lago in December 2022.

Former President Trump at Mar-a-Lago in December 2022. Photo: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Former President Trump withdrew his recent pending lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James in a Florida court on Friday.

Driving the news: The move comes the day after the federal judge overseeing the case blasted Trump and his attorneys for a "continuing pattern of misuse of the courts" and ordered them to pay nearly $1 million in sanctions.

What they're saying: In the James lawsuit, Trump alleged the New York attorney general abused her position and embarked on a "war of intimidation and harassment" against him.

  • Middlebrooks, in Thursday's sanctions order in the Clinton case, said his lawsuits against James, Twitter, and other entities were part of his "pattern of misusing the courts to serve political purposes."
  • The judge also said he had previously urged Trump and his lawyers to reconsider James’ motion to dismiss the lawsuit because it had "all the telltale signs of being both vexatious and frivolous.”

The big picture: The former president's lawsuit against James came a little over a month after she filed a civil lawsuit accusing Trump and his family members of financial fraud, and referred them to federal prosecutors and the IRS for criminal investigation.

Go deeper: Trump, attorneys sanctioned over $937,000 for allegedly abusing court

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