Trump Asks Supreme Court to Revive Dismissed 2016 Election Lawsuit Against Hillary Clinton

President Donald Trump has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to revive his dismissed lawsuit against Hillary Clinton over the 2016 election, filing an appeal on Oct. 9, according to USA TODAY.

The suit, first filed in federal court in Florida in 2022, named Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey, former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, the Democratic National Committee and others. According to the USA TODAY report, Trump alleged that Clinton and her allies conspired to damage him by tying his campaign to Russia, bringing claims that included racketeering and conspiracy to commit injurious falsehood.

Lower courts dismissed the case and imposed sanctions

U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks dismissed the case, finding that parts of it were filed too late and likening it to a political manifesto, according to the report. The judge later ordered Trump and attorney Alina Habba to pay nearly $1 million in fees and costs as sanctions, and the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal and the sanctions in 2025, according to USA TODAY.

In the new appeal, lawyers for Trump and Habba argued that the filing deadline should have been extended because Trump deferred suing during his first term to carry out his presidential duties, and they said Supreme Court intervention is needed to protect the presidency, according to the report.

The underlying dispute dates to the 2016 campaign. A 2019 report by Special Counsel Robert Mueller said Russia interfered in that election in sweeping fashion but did not establish that Trump campaign members conspired or coordinated with the Russian government, according to USA TODAY. A separate 2023 report by Special Counsel John Durham concluded the FBI lacked actual evidence to open its investigation of the campaign, according to the report.

Reporting based on coverage by USA TODAY.