A high court judge in London has dismissed Donald Trump's data protection claim seeking damages over allegations in the "Steele dossier." The dossier, compiled by former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele for Orbis Business Intelligence, accused Trump of engaging in "perverted" sex acts and providing bribes to Russian officials.
Judge Steyn sided with Orbis, stating that the case should not proceed to trial. The ruling, issued on Thursday, clarified that the court did not assess the accuracy of the memoranda but found that Trump's claim for damages fell outside the six-year limitations period.
The court concluded that Trump "has no reasonable grounds for bringing a claim for compensation or damages, and no real prospect of successfully obtaining such a remedy." Additionally, it deemed the alternative remedy of a compliance order restricting the processing of the memoranda as "pointless and unnecessary" since the dossier was freely available online, and Orbis had committed to deleting its copies.
Despite being the frontrunner for the Republican candidacy in the upcoming election, Trump's case alleging a breach of data protection rights by Orbis was unsuccessful. The former president had expressed willingness to testify in the high court.
The Steele dossier, published by BuzzFeed in 2017, investigated Russian attempts to influence the 2016 US presidential campaign. Among its controversial claims were allegations that Trump hired sex workers for explicit activities in Moscow and participated in sex parties in St Petersburg. Trump has consistently denied these accusations.
Trump's lawyer, Hugh Tomlinson KC, acknowledged his client's legal responsibility to prove the allegations false and affirmed Trump's intention to present evidence in court.
Orbis successfully argued that the claim had been filed beyond the permissible time frame.