Former President Donald Trump — whose various slanders against his real and perceived political foes made him the most libelous president ever to hold the post — is now suing Hillary Clinton and others who highlighted his suspicious behavior toward Russia during and after the 2016 presidential campaign. If and when Trump submits to being deposed by the defendants, we’ll believe this is something more than his usual empty bluster. If that doesn’t happen (prediction: it won’t), Trump should be on the business end of a major frivolous-litigation judgment.
In addition to the unprecedented penchant for insults and lies, Trump is the most litigious president in America’s history. For decades, he was known for throwing around frivolous lawsuits, often based on his inability to brook even the mildest criticism. USA Today tallied it up in 2016, and at that time he’d been party to some 3,500 lawsuits, almost 2,000 of those as the plaintiff.
He has sued people for saying he’s worth less than he claims (this despite his documented habit of lying about his own wealth). As a real estate developer, he once sued the Chicago Tribune’s architecture critic for disputing Trump’s prediction that he would build the world’s tallest building. He once sued a small drugstore company — whose owners weren’t related to him but happened to be named Trump — for using their own name on their company.
And, of course, Trump’s 2020 reelection campaign went to court almost 60 times with its bogus claims that the election was stolen — a claim he could never prove because it plainly wasn’t true.
The 100-plus-page federal lawsuit Trump filed in Florida against Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey, the Democratic National Committee and others alleges they created a “false narrative” that his 2016 presidential campaign colluded with Russia, designed to “destroy his life.”
A few small problems here: One, Comey effectively handed the presidency to Trump by implying days before the election that there was something to the meaningless controversy over Clinton’s email servers (which Trump relentlessly promoted), only to acknowledge later that there wasn’t. Two, Trump’s behavior during the campaign invited suspicion about Russia (as when he publicly called on the Kremlin to hack Clinton’s email, and Russia promptly did). And, three, Trump ultimately won the election.
Come to think of it, maybe Clinton should be suing Trump.
Trump’s lawsuit almost certainly will get thrown out like most of his actions do — or, more likely, he will drop it himself as soon as he is faced with having to be deposed under oath. His history indicates that he views litigation as just another version of his rallies: a consequence-free way to tweak his enemies and salve his ego. In this case, though, there should be consequences. Nothing would spell justice in this case better than a frivolous-litigation ruling against Trump.