Sanctions suspended in Donald Trump’s RICO case against Clinton

Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton debated at Washington University in St. Louis on October 9, 2016. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images.)

At the request of the attorneys for donald trumpA Florida federal judge has agreed to stay sanctions payments directly to a defendant named in a sprawling but so far failed racketeering lawsuit against him Hillary Clinton and a plethora of other real or perceived political enemies associated with the 2016 election cycle.

Trump filed the sprawling case back in March and amended it in June. Still, US District Judge Donald M Middlebrooks ruled that it constituted little more than a litany of political grievances, which was nowhere near a color allegation recognized under federal law. Middlebrooks dropped the case, but Trump’s attorneys have filed the early stages of an appeal before the 11th Circuit. The district court reserves limited jurisdiction to determine whether sanctions are appropriate.

The first of the many named defendants to seek sanctions in the matter was Charles Halliday Dolan Jr. Middlebrooks determined that sanctions were indeed warranted and provided Dolan with a reward of approximately $66,274.23.

Clinton and several other defendants submitted their own motions for sanctions; it remains pending.

But Trump’s attorneys have asked during the appeals process to stay the sanctions against Dolan. In addition, Trump’s lawyers called for a “Superseeas bond” – Latin for “you should stop‘ – to be paid to the District Court in some sort of escrow account. The bond will remain in the district court’s possession until the 11th Circuit Court decides what to do with the underlying case, according to Trump’s attorneys’ motion Monday.

According to local court regulations, the replacement bond must equal 110% of the underlying amount. Here the total is $72,901.67, according to Monday’s filings.

As Monday’s filing from Trump’s attorneys explains:

Plaintiff requests that this court permit the deposit of a total of $72,901.67 in the court registry as supersedeas bonds in accordance with Local Rule 62.1 demand a supersedeas bond equal to 110% of the judgment. The Last Judgement [D.E. 284] entered the final judgment amount as $66,274.23. An order is required to register the amount of the Supersedeas bond in the court registry.

[ . . . ]

The suspension should last until the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issues a mandate or equivalent. The suspension applies only to the collection of the final judgment and does not apply to subsequent fee and/or cost orders.

THEREFORE, Plaintiff requests that this honorable court enter an order granting a stay of final judgment upon deposit of $72,901.67 at the clerk’s office of this court pending a mandate or equivalent mandate from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and further and other remedies may deem this honorable court just and reasonable.

Middlebrooks gave in to this rather talismanic request Wednesday afternoon. Citing Local Rule 62.1, Middlebrooks said the application was “properly prepared” under the rule and “consistent with the purpose of a replacement bond.”

“Following the deposit of $72,901.67 by Plaintiffs’ Counsel at the Court Registry, enforcement of the order of this Court granting Defendant Dolan’s application for sanctions under Rule 11 is SUSPENDED pending a mandate, or equivalent mandate, from the Court of Appeals.” of the 11th Precinct,” Middlebrooks wrote.

Dolan cited a $16,274.23 bill for attorneys’ fees while seeking sanctions against Trump’s attorneys. According to documents filed at the time, by September he had paid just over $2,000 for that balance. He further complained of problems obtaining credit and a “significant loss of consulting business” after Trump accused him of being the source of “salacious” sexual rumors involving Trump and a Moscow hotel room. Dolan’s attorneys claimed that Dolan was not the source of these rumors and that Trump failed even to properly present the conspiracy claims made against Dolan.

Dolan’s attorneys said they billed at a significantly discounted rate of $100 an hour “both as a favor to Mr. Dolan and as an acknowledgment that the lawsuit against him was unfounded.”

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