Former US President Donald Trump has filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against a company founded by a former British spy, accusing the company of making false claims that damaged his reputation in what his lawyer called “shocking and scandalous.” was ordered to pay six-figure legal costs.
A London judge last month dismissed the case against Orbis Business Intelligence, saying it was certain to fail, and awarded President Trump 300,000 pounds in legal costs, according to court documents released Thursday. ordered to pay $2,000).
Click here to follow our WhatsApp channel
The British case is one of the few in which Trump, who is almost certain to win the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is not named as a defendant as he faces extensive legal problems domestically.
Trump has been charged in four criminal cases and faces civil proceedings in US courts. He later lost a defamation lawsuit in which a jury found him responsible for sexual abuse and was ordered to pay $355 million after a verdict of fraud against his business.
In Britain, he went on the offensive, suing Orbis, which was founded by Christopher Steele, who once served as the Russia desk for Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, also known as MI6.
Mr. Steele was paid by Democrats for an investigation that included salacious allegations that the Russians could use to blackmail Mr. Trump. The so-called Steele dossier, compiled in 2016, caused political turmoil with rumors and unsubstantiated claims just before President Trump took office, but has since been largely discredited.
President Trump accused Orbis of violating British data protection laws, saying the documents were fake.
Lawyer Hugh Tomlinson told a hearing in October that the former president had suffered personal and reputational damage and distress over document claims that he attended sex parties in St. Petersburg and dated sex workers in Moscow. Stated.
Tomlinson said the dossier contains shocking and scandalous allegations about President Trump's personal conduct, including that he paid bribes to Russian officials to further his business interests. He said it also contained suspicions.
Orbis said the lawsuit should be thrown out because the report was not intended for publication and was published by BuzzFeed without permission from Steele or Orbis. He also said the complaint was filed too late.
Judge Karen Stein, who sided with Orbis in her Feb. 1 ruling, issued an order for the court costs to be paid a few days later.
She reduced the £634,000 ($809,000) legal costs claimed by Orbis by more than 50%. This was because she said the hearing was expensive considering it only lasted one day.
In 2022, a federal judge in Florida dismissed Mr. Trump's lawsuit against Mr. Steele, his 2016 Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, and former FBI officials, denying him the Russia shadow that overshadowed much of his administration. He rejected his claims that they were involved in fabricating the investigation.
