Trump Ordered to Pay Over £620,000 in Legal Costs After Losing Lawsuit
- Donald Trump has been ordered by a UK judge to pay over £620,000 in legal costs after losing a lawsuit against a British intelligence consultancy
- The former US president sued Orbis Business Intelligence over the infamous Steele dossier, which included unproven allegations of sexual misconduct—claims he denies
- The court dismissed Trump’s case in 2024 and later barred him from a costs hearing after he refused to pay an earlier ordered sum
Donald Trump has been ordered by a judge in England to pay more than £620,000 in legal costs after losing a high-profile lawsuit against Orbis Business Intelligence, a company founded by former MI6 officer Christopher Steele.
The current US president brought a data protection claim against the UK-based consultancy in 2022, seeking to discredit allegations contained in the now-infamous Steele dossier.
Source: Getty Images
The report, compiled in 2016 and later published by BuzzFeed in 2017, claimed Trump had been “compromised” by the Russian security service, the FSB, and had participated in “perverted” sex acts during visits to Moscow and St Petersburg—allegations Trump has consistently denied.
Judge finds Trump’s legal bill ‘reasonable and proportionate’
Mrs Justice Steyn had dismissed the case in February 2024 without ruling on the truth of the allegations, concluding that the entire claim should be thrown out.
She ordered Trump to cover Orbis’s legal costs, initially requiring a payment of £290,000. However, a hearing in January this year revealed that Trump had “decided not to pay” the sum, prompting further legal proceedings.
As a result, Trump was barred from participating in a three-day hearing to determine the full amount owed.
On Thursday, Judge Rowley issued a final ruling, ordering him to pay a total of £626,058.98. The judge described the amount as “both reasonable and proportionate,” noting that interest would continue to accrue daily at a rate of 12%.
Trump sought to disprove sex allegations in Steele Dossier
In a witness statement, Trump said he filed the lawsuit to prove the falsity of the dossier’s most salacious claims, which suggested he had engaged in “perverted sexual acts” during visits to Russia.
His lawyers argued the document was “egregiously inaccurate” and filled with “numerous false, phoney or made-up allegations.”
Although the dossier contributed to intense political scrutiny ahead of Trump’s inauguration, many of its claims were never substantiated and have since been largely discredited.
Steele had been commissioned by Democratic political operatives to conduct the opposition research, which included assertions that Russia possessed compromising material capable of blackmailing Trump.
Source: Getty Images
Orbis argued the case was out of time and without merit
Or is maintained that the lawsuit lacked merit from the outset, asserting that the dossier was never intended for public release.
The company also noted that the report was published by BuzzFeed without permission from either Steele or Orbis, and argued that Trump’s legal challenge had been filed too late under UK data protection law.
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The United States has punished Fiji, Vanuatu and tiny Nauru for running trade surpluses with the economic superpower, slapping them with duties far above its new 10-percent baseline.
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