London High Court Orders Trump to Pay £625,000 in Legal Costs After Failed Lawsuit Against Ex-British Spy
In a legal setback for former U.S. President Donald Trump, the High Court in London ruled on Thursday that he must pay £625,000 ($741,000) in legal costs following his unsuccessful lawsuit against former British spy Christopher Steele. Trump had sought to bring a case against Steele, who authored the infamous Steele dossier, which made explosive and unverified claims about Trump’s connections to Russia.
The dossier, published just before Trump’s first presidential inauguration in January 2017, contained several controversial and unverified allegations, including claims that Trump had been compromised by Russian agents and that Moscow possessed compromising videos of Trump with prostitutes during a 2013 visit to Moscow. These claims, particularly those of sexual misconduct, have been consistently denied by Trump.
Trump’s legal action began in 2022 when he filed a data protection claim against Steele’s company, Orbis Business Intelligence, accusing it of unlawfully processing his personal data. He sought unspecified damages for the distress and reputational harm caused by the dossier’s contents. However, in a ruling delivered in February 2024, High Court judge Karen Steyn stated that Trump’s claim was “bound to fail” and had “no compelling reasons” to proceed to trial.
Steyn’s decision did not address the veracity of the dossier’s claims, but it did note that the case was untenable. The judge’s ruling also emphasized that Orbis, which produced the dossier before Trump’s 2016 election victory, was not responsible for its public release.
The Steele dossier became a focal point for political controversy, fueling investigations, including the probe led by U.S. Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller. Mueller’s investigation ultimately found evidence of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election but did not establish any collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia.
The legal defeat in the UK now sees Trump liable for the £625,000 legal costs, a significant financial blow after his bid to hold Steele and Orbis accountable was rejected.
