Trump lawsuit over claims in ‘Steele dossier’ dismissed in UK

A judge in London has tossed out former President Trump’s lawsuit accusing former British spy Christopher Steele of making “shocking and scandalous claims” that were false and harmful to his reputation, according to multiple reports.

Judge Karen Steyn on Thursday ruled Trump’s suit, filed in October, should be dismissed as “there are no compelling reasons to allow the claim to proceed to trial,” The Associated Press reported.

The suit was filed against Orbis Business Intelligence, the company founded by Steele, a former MI6 agent who published a 35-page dossier that featured uncorroborated claims about Trump ahead of the 2016 election. 

Trump’s defense last year argued the company violated British data protection laws and that he has “suffered personal and reputational damage and distress” as a result. 

His lawyer, Hugh Tomlinson, claimed in October the dossier “contained shocking and scandalous claims about the personal conduct of President Trump,” including allegations he bribed Russian authorities for business reasons, the AP reported. 

The former president has insisted the dossier is “fake news” and part of the political witch hunt against him. 

Steele, who ran the Russia desk for MI6, had been paid by Democrats to gather opposition research, including salacious allegations that Russians could use to blackmail Trump. 

Former nominee Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee settled a campaign finance inquiry in 2022, agreeing to pay $113,000 in fines stemming from the dossier. 

Orbis contended the lawsuit should be dismissed as the report was never intended to be public and was published by BuzzFeed without permission from it or Steele.

The firm’s defense further argued the former president had a “deep and intense animus against” Steele and the firm, along with “a long history of repeatedly bringing frivolous, meritless and vexatious claims for the purpose of vexing and harassing perceived enemies and others against whom he bears a grudge.”

Steyn sided with Orbis, ruling Trump had “chosen to allow many years to elapse — without any attempt to vindicate his reputation in this jurisdiction — since he was first made aware of the dossier” in January 2017, per the AP. 

“The claim for compensation and/or damages … is bound to fail,” Steyn reportedly said.

Trump’s campaign spokesman Steven Cheung on Thursday said the former president will continue to “fight for the truth.”

“The High Court in London has found that there was not even an attempt by Christopher Steele, or his group, to justify or try to prove, which they absolutely cannot, their false and defamatory allegations in the fake ‘dossier,’” Cheung wrote in a statement to The Hill. “The High Court also found that there was processing, utilization, of those false statements. President Trump will continue to fight for the truth and against falsehoods such as ones promulgated by Steele and his cohorts.”

The Associated Press contributed. 

— Updated at 1:20 p.m.