It's official. A U.K. judge has just made Donald Trump's losing streak international after tossing out a lawsuit the former President filed against Orbis Business Intelligence, a British firm co-founded by Christopher Steele, a former MI6 intelligence officer. Trump would have liked to win against Steele since he oversaw the Russia desk for Britain's secret intel service before retiring in 2009 and founding Orbis.
This is the same Christopher Steele who compiled the salatious Steele Dossier. For example, it said that Trump ordered prostitutes to pee on a Moscow hotel bed once slept in by Mr. and Mrs. Obama. Democrats had paid Steele to compile research on Trump's ties to Russia.
Time reports:
The lawsuit alleged that Orbis Intelligence had violated British data protection laws by compiling a 35-page dossier of information suggesting that Trump had engaged in sexual activity with prostitutes while visiting Russia, giving the Russian government material to blackmail him with. The allegations made in the dossier have not been substantiated by any external sources. The dossier was leaked and published by BuzzFeed in 2017.
“The inaccurate personal data in the Dossier has, and continues, to cause me significant damage and distress,” Trump, who has denied the allegations made within the dossier, said in a statement shared by his lawyers in October 2023. “A judgment of the English court on this issue will be an immense relief to me as it will completely confirm the true position to the public.”
“There are no compelling reasons to allow the claim to proceed to trial," Judge Karen Steyn said while dismissing the lawsuit.
Trump's attorney, Hugh Tomlinson, previously said the former president had “suffered personal and reputational damage and distress" as a result of the dossier. Trump had previously attempted to sue Steele in a Florida court, but the case was thrown out in 2022.
Trump took to Truth Social, apparently rattled by the latest ruling, sharing a screen capture of a piece from Politico.
Responding to the court decision in a punchy statement Thursday, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said: “The High Court in London has found that there was not even an attempt by Christopher Steele, or his group, to justify or try to prove, which they absolutely cannot, their false and defamatory allegations in the fake ‘dossier.’
“The High Court also found that there was processing, utilization, of those false statements. President Trump will continue to fight for the truth and against falsehoods such as ones promulgated by Steele and his cohorts.”
Just beneath the quoted part from Politico was this statement from Orbis that Trump left out, and because we're nothing but helpful here at CrooksAndLiars, I added it below.
But, in its own statement Thursday evening, Orbis said it was “delighted” with the “meticulous and comprehensive judgment striking out Donald Trump’s data protection claim” — and argued the case “should never have been brought.”
The firm added: “Orbis stands by its sources and work and will not be deflected by such lawfare practices. We shall endeavour to continue serving our clients with skill and professional integrity.”
There will probably be a lot of ketchupping going on at Mar-a-Lago any minute now. Duck, Melania. Or don't. I personally don't give a fuck.
