Donald Trump and one of his attorneys have been sentenced by a US court to pay over $1 million (£809,190) in penalties for a lawsuit they filed against Hillary Clinton and others.

The 2016 US presidential election was allegedly rigged by Mrs. Clinton and others by associating Mr. Trump's campaign with Russia, according to the complaint.

US District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks said in his ruling that the lawsuit "should never have been initiated."

Mr. Trump hasn't answered right away.

In his March 2018 complaint, the former president accused Mrs. Clinton, the DNC, and others of working together to "weave a false narrative" about his campaign's 2016 election-related collusion with Russia.

Trump has asked for damages of $70 million, according to the reports.

After one defendant requested sanctions, the case was dropped in September, and Mr. Trump was assessed a fine of over $65,000 in costs and penalties in November.

After many defendants, including Mrs. Clinton, submitted a fresh request for penalties, Thursday's decision was made.

Judge Middlebrooks ruled, "Mr. Trump was a mastermind of strategic exploitation of the judicial process and that the action was filed with "political intent" and was inadequate as a legal claim."

"No sensible attorney," he said, "would have submitted it."

The judgment ordered that Mr. Trump, his attorney Alina Habba, and Habba Madaio & Associates together pay a fine of $937,989.39.

The judge said in a 46-page judgment that "Mr. Trump is a prolific and savvy litigator who is frequently utilizing the courts to seek vengeance on political rivals."

The lawsuit also included the names of former Democratic National Committee head Debbie Wasserman Schultz, former FBI Director James Comey, and political strategist John Podesta.

The suspected meddling in the 2016 election by Russia sparked a two-year investigation led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Despite the fact that Mr. Mueller did not discover any proof of campaign collaboration with Russia, he insisted that the president was still guilty of obstructing justice despite his findings.