Former President Donald Trump’s bid to appeal the dismissal of his case against retired British spy Christopher Steele has been rejected by a London appellate justice. This follows Judge Karen Steyn’s earlier ruling in February, which deemed Trump’s data privacy case lacked merit and ordered him to pay £300,000 in legal fees to Steele’s company, Orbis Business Intelligence.
Lord Justice Mark Warby, in his order on Wednesday, stated that Trump’s appeal had little chance of success. He found some of Trump’s arguments contradictory and noted that new points were introduced in the appeal that were not presented before Steyn.
This ruling adds to Trump’s legal woes, as he has already faced over half a billion dollars in legal penalties this year. He faces a deadline to post a $175 million bond following a New York civil fraud trial and has been ordered to pay $83.3 million in a civil defamation case filed by E. Jean Carroll. Trump also faces legal fees in four separate criminal cases.
Steele expressed gratitude for the ruling, labeling Trump’s case as vexatious and without merit. He looks forward to receiving the interim payment from Trump and further costs awarded by the court.
Despite the setback, Trump’s team plans to continue appealing. The lawsuit, filed in September against Steele and his company, alleged that Steele’s claims about Trump’s Russian ties harmed his reputation.
Steele compiled unverified claims in what became known as the Steele dossier, which alleged Trump conspired with Russia to win the 2016 election and that Russia possessed compromising information on him. However, subsequent US government investigations and lawsuits discredited many of the dossier’s claims.
Steele maintains that his claims were unverified tips requiring further investigation and were never intended for public release.
CNN reached out to the Trump campaign for comment, but no response has been received at the time of reporting.
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