Trump Seeks Supreme Court Review of Clinton Lawsuit Appeal

President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to revive his dismissed 2022 lawsuit against Hillary Clinton, James Comey, the Democratic National Committee and others over allegations tied to his 2016 campaign, challenging lower court rulings that rejected the case and imposed nearly $1 million in sanctions.

The filing seeks to overturn decisions that dismissed Trump's claims alleging a coordinated effort to link his campaign to Russia and damage his candidacy. A federal judge previously described the complaint as a "political screed dressed up as a lawsuit" and called it a "200-page political manifesto."

According to Newser and the Washington Examiner, U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks dismissed the case and sanctioned Trump and attorney Alina Habba for what he characterized as "knowingly false" allegations and "frivolous" legal theories. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later upheld the dismissal and sanctions.

Middlebrooks wrote that "This case should never have been brought." the judge stated. The ruling also said, "No reasonable lawyer would have filed it."

The appeals court said many of Trump's arguments "were indeed frivolous." The dispute now centers on whether presidential responsibilities affected the timing of Trump's ability to bring the civil lawsuit.

Trump's legal team argued that he delayed filing until after leaving office because of his duties as commander in chief.

"Faced with this conspiracy during his term, President Trump concluded that any private civil lawsuit would consume substantial time and energy and that any civil suit should therefore be postponed until after his term," the filing said.

Trump's attorneys also argued the Supreme Court should intervene to protect presidential authority.

"This court’s intervention is necessary to protect the presidency, and to prevent judicial disagreement from becoming a license to punish its advocates," Trump's filing stated.

The lawsuit involved claims that Clinton, Comey, the Democratic National Committee and others created allegations connecting Trump's campaign with Russia. The case arose from disputes surrounding the FBI's "Crossfire Hurricane" investigation and the so-called Russia "hoax" claims made by Trump.

The broader investigations found that Russia interfered in the 2016 election, while investigators did not establish a criminal conspiracy between Trump's campaign and Russia. The Federal Election Commission previously fined Clinton's campaign team and the Democratic National Committee $113,000 over reporting related to research connected to the Steele dossier, which they agreed to settle.