President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, October 9, 2026, to revive his dismissed lawsuit against 2016 Democratic rival Hillary Clinton and others, alleging they conspired to damage his candidacy and presidency by promoting false allegations that his campaign colluded with Russia.
The lawsuit, originally filed in federal court in Florida in March 2022 when Trump was out of office, names Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey, former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, the Democratic National Committee, and numerous other defendants. Trump's complaint alleged "racketeering" and "conspiracy to commit injurious falsehood" among other claims, and asserted that the defendants fabricated and promoted the narrative of Russian collusion to "discredit, delegitimize and defame" him. Trump claims he suffered at least $24 million in defense costs and legal fees as a result of the alleged conspiracy.
U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks dismissed the case in September 2022, citing numerous inadequacies including that Trump waited too long to bring some claims. Middlebrooks characterized the 200-page lawsuit as a "political manifesto outlining his grievances against those that have opposed him" and found it used "abusive litigation tactics," contained "knowingly false" factual allegations, and asserted "frivolous" legal theories. The judge ordered Trump and attorney Alina Habba to pay nearly $1 million in sanctions and fees, ruling the lawsuit was intended "to dishonestly advance a political narrative" and reflected a "continuing pattern of misuse of the courts."
The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld both the dismissal and sanctions in 2025, stating that "many of Trump's and Habba's legal arguments were indeed frivolous." In their Supreme Court petition filed Friday, Trump's lawyers argued that the statute of limitations for filing the lawsuit should have been extended because Trump deliberately postponed legal action during his first term in office, from 2017 to 2021, to fulfill his constitutional responsibilities as president. They also contended that lower-court decisions imposing sanctions reflect "a deeply troubling trend of federal courts using sanctions and disciplinary threats to punish the President and his lawyers for legitimate legal positions." According to their filing, Supreme Court review is necessary "to protect the presidency, and to prevent judicial disagreement from becoming a license to punish its advocates."
Trump defeated Clinton in the 2016 election despite losing the national popular vote and served one term from 2017 to 2021. Following his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden, Trump made repeated false claims of widespread voting fraud in that election. Trump regained the presidency in 2024 by defeating Democrat Kamala Harris and has continued to make those false claims.
U.S. government officials have long accused Russia of meddling in the 2016 election. Special Counsel Robert Mueller's 2019 report stated that Russia "interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion" but concluded that the investigation "did not establish that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities." The report documented "numerous links" and noted that the Trump campaign "expected it would benefit" from Russia's efforts. Trump has dismissed Russian interference allegations as a "hoax." In 2023, Special Counsel John Durham, appointed by Trump's then-Attorney General William Barr to investigate potential FBI missteps, concluded that the FBI lacked "actual evidence" to investigate Trump's 2016 campaign and relied too heavily on tips from Trump's political opponents.
The Supreme Court has not yet indicated whether it will accept Trump's petition for review. The case represents Trump's continued legal battles against political adversaries, a pattern he has maintained throughout his political career.
