Trump Files Supreme Court Appeal Reviving Dormant Election Lawsuit Against Clinton

Former President Donald Trump petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to revive his dismissed lawsuit against 2016 Democratic rival Hillary Clinton, accusing her of conspiring with former FBI Director James Comey and others to undermine the election through a Russia-linked narrative.

The appeal follows a federal judge’s ruling that dismissed the case and imposed nearly $1 million in sanctions against Trump and attorney Alina Habba, deeming the suit frivolous. A U.S. appeals court subsequently affirmed the dismissal and sanctions.

In 2022, after leaving office following the 2020 election loss, Trump filed a broad complaint in federal court in Florida naming Clinton, Comey, former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, the Democratic National Committee and other parties. The litigation alleged that Clinton orchestrated a false campaign narrative linking Trump’s team to Russia, asserting claims of racketeering and injurious falsehood.

Although Trump lost the national popular vote in 2016, he secured the Electoral College and served a first term from 2017 to 2021. U.S. officials have long accused Russia of election meddling, and the Mueller investigation documented extensive contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian operatives seeking to influence the outcome; Trump has repeatedly called the interference a hoax.

Since his 2020 defeat, Trump has promoted false claims of widespread voting fraud. He reclaimed the presidency in 2024 by defeating Vice President Kamala Harris, and continues to assert those disputed allegations.

Federal District Judge Donald Middlebrooks compared the lawsuit to a “two-hundred-page political manifesto outlining his grievances,” and later ordered Trump and Habba to pay close to $1 million in fees and costs, ruling the case was intended to dishonestly advance a political narrative. Middlebrooks also faulted the pair for a continuing pattern of court misuse, finding the suit contained knowingly false allegations and frivolous legal theories.

The Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Middlebrooks’ rulings in 2025, including the sanctions, noting that many of Trump’s and Habba’s legal arguments were indeed frivolous.

In court filings, Trump’s legal team argued the rulings have a profound impact on the presidency and the nation as a whole.

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s 2019 report concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election “in a sweeping and systematic fashion,” but stated the investigation did not establish that Trump campaign members conspired or coordinated with the Russian government. Mueller noted numerous links and that the campaign expected to benefit from Russia’s interference.

Former Attorney General William Barr appointed John Durham as special counsel in 2019 to examine potential FBI missteps. Durham’s 2023 report found the FBI lacked actual evidence to open the investigation and relied too heavily on tips from Trump’s political opponents.

Trump’s Justice Department previously indicted Comey on charges of making false statements and obstructing Congress related to leaked information; a federal judge subsequently dismissed the indictment, finding the appointed prosecutor had been unlawfully selected.

Christopher Steele, working through an opposition research firm hired by a law firm on behalf of the Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee, produced a dossier alleging ties between Trump’s campaign and Russia, along with other accusations that Trump has consistently denied.

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