Trump Asks SCOTUS To Review 2016 Election Lawsuit Against Hillary Clinton
President Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to revive his dismissed lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and other political adversaries, challenging lower court rulings that rejected his claims and ordered nearly $1 million in sanctions.
Trump filed the appeal Friday, October 9. His attorneys argue that federal judges wrongly penalized him and his lawyers for bringing claims related to alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
The lawsuit, filed in Florida in March 2022, accused Clinton and others of conspiring to damage Trump’s campaign by promoting claims that his associates had improperly coordinated with Russia. The defendants included former FBI Director James Comey, the Democratic National Committee, former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, and several other people and organizations.
Trump alleged racketeering, conspiracy and other wrongdoing, arguing that the defendants’ actions harmed his reputation and political activities. The case also focused on the Steele dossier, a collection of allegations about Trump’s Russia ties compiled during the 2016 campaign. Steele prepared the dossier while working for a research firm hired through a law firm representing Clinton’s campaign and the DNC. Several major claims in the dossier were never corroborated, and some were later discredited.
U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks dismissed the case in September 2022, finding that the complaint had substantial legal deficiencies. He ruled that some claims were filed too late and others did not establish grounds for relief. Middlebrooks described the complaint as a lengthy political document built around Trump’s grievances against his opponents.
In January 2023, the judge imposed nearly $1 million in sanctions against Trump and attorney Alina Habba, concluding that the case relied on unsupported factual allegations and legally deficient arguments. He also accused them of misusing the judicial process to advance a political narrative. Trump and Habba disputed those findings and maintained the lawsuit raised legitimate questions about Clinton and the other defendants.
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals largely upheld the dismissal and sanctions in November 2025. The three-judge panel found Trump’s racketeering claims untimely and lacking sufficient legal merit, and called many arguments by Trump and Habba frivolous.
The appeals court did make a limited correction concerning a British intelligence company. It ruled that claims against the company should have been dismissed without prejudice because the district court lacked personal jurisdiction. That decision did not revive the broader lawsuit. The panel included Judge Andrew Brasher, whom Trump appointed during his first term.
In the Supreme Court filing, Trump’s attorneys challenge the courts’ rejection of his explanation for waiting until 2022 to sue. They argue that he was occupied with his constitutional duties during his first presidential term and that the statute of limitations should have been extended.
The filing also contends that the sanctions raise broader constitutional concerns, warning that punishing a president and his attorneys for advancing disputed legal arguments could discourage litigation involving presidential interests. Trump’s lawyers called the lower court rulings “a deeply troubling trend of federal courts using sanctions and disciplinary threats to punish the president and his lawyers.”
“This court’s intervention is necessary to protect the presidency, and to prevent judicial disagreement from becoming a license to punish its advocates,” the attorneys wrote.
The Supreme Court has not yet indicated whether it will take up the case.