The Steele dossier contains outrageous allegations. To this day, the report by an ex-intelligence agent hangs over Donald Trump. Now the ex-president is defending himself in court – his lawyers speak of “shocking and scandalous” allegations.
Donald Trump is taking civil action in London against the so-called Steele dossier. Among other things, the former U.S. president wants to refute the allegation that he participated in sex parties in Russia. Trump will present relevant evidence, his lawyer said, according to the British news agency PA.
At issue in the case is a dossier of information once compiled by British ex-intelligence officer Christopher Steele. The 35 pages cite, among other things, reports that Russian intelligence had footage of Trump’s alleged participation in orgies in Russia.
Among other things, it discusses an alleged incident at a hotel in 2013 in which prostitutes allegedly urinated on a bed in Trump’s presence. According to the dossier, Russian intelligence is said to be withholding the material as leverage.
“Enough embarrassing material”
Trump is also said to have been courted and supported by Putin’s regime for years; in the summer of 2016, his campaign team allegedly made common cause with the Russians to damage Hillary Clinton and win the election. According to Steele’s informant, the Russian authorities had collected “enough embarrassing material” to be able to blackmail Trump.
Trump has always denied all of that. He once called Steele’s dossier “completely made-up bullshit” paid for by Clinton. Now he is suing Orbis Business Intelligence, the consulting firm Steele founded. The accusation is that the company used private information illegally. Trump is now demanding compensation for the damage to his reputation.
In the dossier, the former president is accused of “perverse sexual behavior,” Trump’s lawyers wrote, according to the British BBC.
. Among other things, it accuses him of “hiring prostitutes … in the presidential suite of a hotel in Moscow.” It contains “shocking and scandalous allegations” that Trump will refute, they said. “None of this ever happened.” The lawsuit, he said, is Trump’s only opportunity to fully set the record straight about the false allegations.
Steele’s lawyers, on the other hand, argue the dossier was never meant for public consumption. Trump would therefore have to turn to “BuzzFeed” with his claims. The medium had published the dossier along with the unverified contents at the time, arguing that it was of great public interest.
Steele was once Moscow bureau chief for Britain’s MI6 intelligence agency. However, he produced the dossier in 2016 as a kind of commissioned work for the Democrats. In the U.S., it’s common for political opponents to have candidates’ pasts scoured for vulnerabilities.
Another hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, but a decision on whether to move forward with the case will be made at a later date. In two previous cases, judges had ruled that Steele and his firm could not be held liable for the consequences of publishing the dossier.