A judge in London on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit by former US President Donald Trump that accused the former British spy of making “shocking and scandalous allegations” that were false and damaged his reputation.
Judge Karen Steyn said the case filed by Trump against Orbis Business Intelligence should be dismissed.
“There is no good reason to allow the claim to proceed to trial,” he said.
The decision comes as Trump is the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination while facing legal trouble on both sides of the Atlantic.
Trump is suing the company founded by Christopher Steele, who created documents in 2016 containing rumors and unsubstantiated claims that caused a political firestorm shortly before Trump’s inauguration. Trump said the document was fake news and a political witch hunt.
Judge Karen Steyn said former US President Donald Trump’s case filed against Orbis Business Intelligence should be dismissed. AP
Trump is seeking damages from Orbis for allegedly breaching British data protection laws.
At the hearing in October, Trump’s lawyer, Hugh Tomlinson, said the former president “suffered personal and reputational damage and distress” because his data protection rights were violated.
Steele, who once headed the Russia desk for Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service, also known as MI6, was paid by Democrats to compile research that included malicious allegations that Russia could potentially use to blackmail Trump.
The main entrance to the building where the Orbis Business Intelligence offices are located in central London. AP
Tomlinson said the document “contains shocking and scandalous allegations about President Trump’s personal conduct” and includes allegations he paid bribes to Russian officials to advance his business interests.
Trump’s case “is that this personal data is wildly inaccurate,” he said.
In a written witness statement, Trump said that while Steele insisted that the allegations were not substantiated, they were “completely untrue.”
Trump speaks to reporters at the headquarters of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters on January 31, 2024, in Washington, DC. Getty Images
Trump said he did not engage in “deviant sexual behavior including hiring a prostitute … in the presidential suite of a hotel in Moscow,” participating in a “sex party” in St. Petersburg, bribing Russian officials, or giving them “enough material to blackmail me.” He also said he did not bribe, coerce or silence witnesses.
Orbis said the lawsuit should be thrown out because the report was never meant to be made public and was published by BuzzFeed without the permission of Steele or Orbis. It also said the claim was filed too late.
The judge said Trump had “chose to allow years to pass — without any attempt to vindicate his reputation in this jurisdiction — since he was first informed of the document” in January 2017.
He said that “claims for compensation and/or damages … will inevitably fail.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
