A British judge has ordered US President Donald Trump to pay more than 625,000 pounds (approximately $820,000) in legal fees to a consulting firm he sued unsuccessfully over a controversial intelligence dossier.
The payment stems from a case Trump brought in 2022 against Orbis Business Intelligence, the firm established by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele.
Steele had been commissioned by Democratic Party operatives in 2016 to compile a dossier containing damaging claims about Trump, some of which sparked major political debates ahead of his first presidential inauguration.
That dossier alleged Trump had been “compromised” by Russia’s security services, including through salacious claims that he had participated in “sex parties” in St. Petersburg and engaged with sex workers in Moscow. Trump has consistently denied these accusations, calling them completely false.
In a written statement submitted to the court, Trump said the allegations were “wholly untrue.” He emphasized he had never engaged in “perverted sexual behavior including the hiring of prostitutes ... in the presidential suite of a hotel in Moscow,” nor had he taken part in “sex parties” in St. Petersburg, bribed Russian officials, or given them “sufficient material to blackmail me.”
The legal battle came to a close in February 2024, when Judge Karen Steyn dismissed Trump’s claim. She ruled that the lawsuit had no real prospect of success, partly because of the significant delay in bringing the case. Steyn’s ruling did not address the veracity of the allegations themselves but concluded that the case was “bound to fail.”
Trump had argued that Orbis breached U.K. data protection laws and that the contents of the Steele dossier were fictitious. His legal team described the allegations as “shocking and scandalous claims” that had caused significant harm to his reputation.
Following the dismissal of the lawsuit, Trump was initially required to pay an instalment of 290,000 pounds toward Orbis’s legal expenses. After failing to make that payment, a separate hearing was held to determine the full costs.
On Thursday, Judge Jason Rowley concluded that Trump must pay 626,058.98 pounds, with interest on the amount accruing daily at a rate of 12%. Trump's legal team had earlier criticized the legal fee demand, claiming it had been set “absolutely outrageously high.”
The payment stems from a case Trump brought in 2022 against Orbis Business Intelligence, the firm established by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele.
Steele had been commissioned by Democratic Party operatives in 2016 to compile a dossier containing damaging claims about Trump, some of which sparked major political debates ahead of his first presidential inauguration.
That dossier alleged Trump had been “compromised” by Russia’s security services, including through salacious claims that he had participated in “sex parties” in St. Petersburg and engaged with sex workers in Moscow. Trump has consistently denied these accusations, calling them completely false.
In a written statement submitted to the court, Trump said the allegations were “wholly untrue.” He emphasized he had never engaged in “perverted sexual behavior including the hiring of prostitutes ... in the presidential suite of a hotel in Moscow,” nor had he taken part in “sex parties” in St. Petersburg, bribed Russian officials, or given them “sufficient material to blackmail me.”
The legal battle came to a close in February 2024, when Judge Karen Steyn dismissed Trump’s claim. She ruled that the lawsuit had no real prospect of success, partly because of the significant delay in bringing the case. Steyn’s ruling did not address the veracity of the allegations themselves but concluded that the case was “bound to fail.”
Trump had argued that Orbis breached U.K. data protection laws and that the contents of the Steele dossier were fictitious. His legal team described the allegations as “shocking and scandalous claims” that had caused significant harm to his reputation.
Following the dismissal of the lawsuit, Trump was initially required to pay an instalment of 290,000 pounds toward Orbis’s legal expenses. After failing to make that payment, a separate hearing was held to determine the full costs.
On Thursday, Judge Jason Rowley concluded that Trump must pay 626,058.98 pounds, with interest on the amount accruing daily at a rate of 12%. Trump's legal team had earlier criticized the legal fee demand, claiming it had been set “absolutely outrageously high.”
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