Trump Asks US Supreme Court to Revive Lawsuit Against Hillary Clinton Over 2016 Election

US President Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to revive his lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and other political opponents over alleged efforts to undermine his 2016 presidential campaign by linking him to Russia.

In a petition filed on Friday, Trump sought a review of the case, which was dismissed by a federal court. The lower court also ordered Trump and one of his lawyers to pay nearly $1 million in legal fees and costs. A federal appeals court subsequently upheld that decision.

The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Florida in 2022, accused Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey, former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and others of conspiring to damage Trump's presidential campaign.

Trump alleged that his opponents had attempted to promote a false narrative connecting his campaign to Russia before the 2016 election. The lawsuit included allegations of conspiracy involving organised criminal activity and malicious falsehoods.

In their Supreme Court petition, Trump's lawyers argued that he had delayed filing the lawsuit during his first presidential term because of his constitutional responsibilities as president. They contended that the deadline for filing the case should therefore have been extended.

The lawyers also argued that Supreme Court intervention was necessary to protect the presidency and prevent presidents and their legal representatives from being penalised over legal disputes.

Federal Judge Donald Middlebrooks dismissed the lawsuit, citing numerous deficiencies in the allegations and unreasonable delays in bringing some of the claims.

The judge described the filing as a “two-hundred-page political manifesto” that presented Trump's grievances against his political opponents. He concluded that the lawsuit had been brought in bad faith to advance a political narrative.

Middlebrooks consequently ordered Trump and his lead attorney, Alina Habba, to pay nearly $1 million in legal fees and costs.

In 2025, the US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, based in Atlanta, upheld both the dismissal and the financial sanctions. The appeals court also rejected several of Trump's legal arguments as meritless.

The allegations surrounding Russia's role in the 2016 US presidential election have been the subject of multiple investigations.

In a report released in 2019, Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluded that Russia had conducted extensive and systematic efforts to interfere in the election. However, the investigation did not establish that members of Trump's campaign had conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.

The report also documented numerous contacts between Trump's campaign associates and Russian-linked individuals. Mueller noted that the campaign expected to benefit electorally from information and efforts that Russia sought to provide in support of Trump's candidacy.

In 2019, then-Attorney General William Barr appointed John Durham as special counsel to examine the origins of the FBI's investigation into possible links between Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia.

In a report published in 2023, Durham concluded that the FBI lacked sufficient factual evidence to launch a full investigation into the Trump campaign's alleged links to Russia. He also criticised the agency for relying too heavily on information provided by Trump's political opponents.

The findings added to the political and legal dispute over the origins and handling of the Russia investigation.

Last year, the Justice Department under Trump brought criminal charges against former FBI Director James Comey, accusing him of making false statements and obstructing a congressional proceeding. The charges also included allegations that he had lied about authorising leaks to the media.

A federal judge subsequently dismissed the indictment, ruling that the appointment of the prosecutor selected by Trump to pursue the case was unlawful.

Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer, prepared a dossier examining alleged connections between Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia. His work was commissioned through a law firm working on behalf of the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

The dossier contained a series of allegations concerning Trump's links to Russia, which Trump has repeatedly denied.

Trump's latest petition to the Supreme Court represents another development in the long-running legal and political dispute over the 2016 election, Russia's interference and the investigations that followed. The Supreme Court's consideration of the petition will determine whether his dismissed lawsuit can proceed further.