Trump Takes Hillary Clinton Lawsuit Over Alleged Russia Conspiracy to US Supreme Court

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

US President Donald Trump on Friday asked the Supreme Court to revive his dismissed lawsuit against former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey and others, accusing them of conspiring to damage his 2016 election campaign by linking it to Russia.

Trump filed the appeal after a federal judge dismissed the case and ordered him and one of his lawyers to pay nearly $1 million in sanctions for bringing what the court described as a frivolous lawsuit. The 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals upheld both the dismissal and the sanctions in 2025.

Trump initially filed the lawsuit in 2022, after leaving office following his defeat in the 2020 presidential election. The complaint, lodged in a federal court in Florida, named Clinton, Comey, former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, the Democratic National Committee and several other individuals and organisations.

In the lawsuit, Trump alleged that Clinton and her associates had conspired to spread a false narrative suggesting that his campaign had colluded with Russia ahead of the 2016 presidential election. His complaint included claims of racketeering and conspiracy to commit injurious falsehood, among other allegations.

Trump defeated Clinton in the 2016 election despite losing the national popular vote and served as president from 2017 to 2021.

US officials have accused Russia of interfering in the 2016 election. An investigation led by former special counsel Robert Mueller documented extensive contacts between Trump campaign associates and Russian operatives who sought to influence the election in Trump’s favour. However, Mueller’s 2019 report said the investigation did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference efforts.

Mueller’s report also identified numerous links between the campaign and individuals connected to Russia, noting that the campaign expected to benefit from Moscow’s efforts. Trump has repeatedly dismissed allegations of Russian interference as a hoax.

Judge Calls Lawsuit a ‘Political Manifesto’

US District Judge Donald Middlebrooks dismissed Trump’s lawsuit, citing multiple legal shortcomings, including the delay in bringing some of the claims. The judge compared the complaint to a lengthy political manifesto detailing Trump’s grievances against his opponents.

Middlebrooks subsequently ordered Trump and his lead attorney in the case, Alina Habba, to pay nearly $1 million in legal fees and costs. The sanctions were imposed because the judge concluded that the lawsuit was intended to advance a political narrative dishonestly.

The judge also criticised what he described as a continuing pattern of misuse of the courts, finding that the complaint relied on abusive litigation tactics, knowingly false factual allegations and frivolous legal arguments.

The 11th Circuit upheld the rulings in 2025, agreeing that many of the legal arguments advanced by Trump and Habba lacked merit.

In their appeal to the Supreme Court, lawyers representing Trump and Habba argued that the lower courts’ decisions were having a profound impact on the presidency and the country.

Durham Report Challenged FBI Investigation

The controversy surrounding the 2016 Russia investigation continued after Trump’s then-attorney general, William Barr, appointed John Durham as a special counsel in 2019 to examine potential misconduct by the FBI.

In a report released in 2023, Durham concluded that the FBI lacked actual evidence to investigate Trump’s presidential campaign and relied too heavily on information supplied by his political opponents.

Separately, Trump’s Justice Department indicted Comey last year, accusing him of making false statements and obstructing Congress in connection with allegations that he had lied about authorising leaks to the media. A federal judge later dismissed the indictment, ruling that the prosecutor appointed by Trump to pursue the case had been unlawfully appointed.

Steele, meanwhile, had compiled a dossier containing allegations about connections between Trump’s campaign and Russia. The research was produced for an opposition research firm hired by a law firm working on behalf of Clinton’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Trump denied the dossier’s allegations.

Since losing the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden, Trump has repeatedly made false claims of widespread electoral fraud. He returned to the White House after defeating Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election and has continued to repeat those claims.

The Supreme Court’s consideration of Trump’s latest appeal could determine whether his lawsuit against Clinton and the other defendants can proceed after being dismissed by two lower courts.