In London on Thursday, a judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by former U.S. President Donald Trump against Orbis Business Intelligence, a company founded by ex-British spy Christopher Steele. The lawsuit alleged that Steele had made false and damaging claims that harmed Trump’s reputation. Judge Karen Steyn ruled that there were no compelling reasons for the case to proceed to trial.
Orbis Business Intelligence gained attention in 2016 when Steele, a former MI6 officer, compiled a dossier containing unverified allegations about Trump’s activities, causing controversy before Trump’s inauguration. Trump, labeling the dossier as fake news and a political witch hunt, sought damages from Orbis, claiming a violation of British data protection laws.
During a hearing in October, Trump’s lawyer argued that the lawsuit focused on two memos in the dossier, alleging Trump’s involvement in “sex parties” and associations with sex workers. Attorney Hugh Tomlinson asserted that Trump had suffered personal and reputational damage. In response, Steele maintained the accuracy of the claims.
Trump’s written statement denied engaging in any perverted behavior, bribery of Russian officials, or attempts to silence witnesses. Orbis contended that the lawsuit should be dismissed because the dossier was not intended for public release and was published by BuzzFeed without permission.
Judge Steyn concurred with Orbis, noting that Trump had allowed many years to elapse without attempting to vindicate his reputation since first becoming aware of the dossier in January 2017. She concluded that the claim for compensation and damages was bound to fail.
Orbis attorney Antony White argued that Trump harbored animosity towards Steele and the firm, bringing forth frivolous claims for harassment. A U.S. federal judge in Florida had previously dismissed a Trump lawsuit against Steele, Hillary Clinton, and former FBI officials in 2022, rejecting claims of a conspiracy during the Russia investigation.
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Aside from these legal challenges, Trump awaits a verdict in a civil fraud trial in New York related to allegations of overvaluing assets and exaggerating net worth for financial gain. Additionally, he faces four separate criminal cases, including mishandling classified documents, attempting to overturn the 2020 election results, and paying hush money to a porn actress to conceal an affair.