Trump Faces Legal Setback In UK, Court Throws Out Ex-Spy Dossier Case: 'Brought This Claim To Exact Revenge'

In a recent development, the UK High Court has dismissed a lawsuit brought forward by former US President Donald Trump against Orbis Business Intelligence, a British consultancy firm. The lawsuit pertained to a contentious dossier linking Trump to Russia, compiled by Orbis.

What Happened: Orbis, under the leadership of ex-MI6 officer Christopher Steele, reportedly expressed satisfaction with the court’s verdict. Trump had attempted to leverage data protection laws to sue Orbis over Steele’s dossier, which included unverified allegations of bribery and sex parties.

“We feel strongly that Mr Trump also brought this claim in an attempt to exact revenge on Orbis and to chill free speech and legitimate investigations,” said Orbis, according to the report.

The dossier, financed by Hillary Clinton’s Democrats and other political opponents of Trump, was leaked to the press just prior to Trump’s inauguration. Trump’s legal team contended that the dossier contained false claims that infringed upon his data protection rights, reported BBC on Thursday.

In her ruling, Judge Karen Steyn stated that Trump’s claim was not filed within the six-year limitation period and found no compelling reasons to allow the claim to proceed to trial. Orbis argued that the lawsuit should never have been filed, accusing Trump of trying to “exact revenge on Orbis and to chill free speech and legitimate investigations.”

Another lawsuit that Trump filed against Orbis, Mrs Clinton, and FBI officials was dismissed by a federal judge in Florida in 2022. Steele has previously stated that the dossier was a series of memos based on intelligence and was never intended for publication.

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Why It Matters: The dossier has been a point of contention since its leak, with Trump vehemently denying the allegations.

In a 2023 rally in Iowa, Trump recounted a conversation with his wife, Melania, in which he reassured her of the falseness of the allegations. The dossier’s credibility was further questioned when Tesla CEO Elon Musk criticized an old tweet from Clinton’s campaign as misleading disinformation in 2022.

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