Donald Trump asks Supreme Court to revive 2016 election lawsuit against Hillary Clinton
Lawyers for the president are seeking to overturn nearly $1 million in court sanctions for bringing what lower judges called a frivolous case.
Donald Trump has asked the US Supreme Court to revive his dismissed lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and other political opponents over allegations they tried to sabotage his 2016 presidential campaign by tying it to Russia.
The appeal asks the justices to throw out rulings by lower federal courts, which rejected the lawsuit and ordered Trump and his attorney Alina Habba to pay nearly $1 million in sanctions.
What the lawsuit claims
Trump first filed the legal action in 2022, targeting Clinton, former FBI director James Comey, the Democratic National Committee and several others. He alleged they conspired to fabricate a narrative linking his campaign to Russian interference in the 2016 election.
US District Judge Donald Middlebrooks dismissed the case in September 2022, writing that Trump’s claims were legally insufficient and brought too late. Middlebrooks later issued sanctions against Trump and Habba, describing the suit as a political manifesto rather than a legitimate legal complaint and accusing Trump of using the courts to air personal grievances.
That ruling was upheld in 2025 by a three-judge panel of the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals, which included Trump appointee Andrew Brasher. The appellate court unanimously found many of the claims in the suit to be frivolous.
Why Trump is appealing to the Supreme Court
In their petition to the high court, Trump’s lawyers argued that lower judges went too far by penalising them for advancing legitimate legal arguments.
The lawyers wrote that the decisions reflected a troubling trend of federal courts using sanctions to punish political figures and their counsel for legal positions that judges simply rejected. They urged the Supreme Court to intervene to protect the presidency and prevent judicial disagreement from turning into financial punishment for advocates.
Justice Clarence Thomas had granted an extension in late August giving Trump’s legal team until 9 October to submit the appeal.
Trump has recently claimed publicly that he showed restraint during his presidency by not taking legal action against Clinton and other political rivals, saying he chose not to do so out of respect for the office.
Key numbers
| What | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sanctions imposed | Nearly $1 million | US District Court order |
| Year original lawsuit was filed | 2022 | US District Court filings |
| Appeal extension deadline set by Clarence Thomas | 9 October 2026 | US Supreme Court docket |
In this story
| Name | Role in the story |
|---|---|
| Hillary Clinton | Main defendant in Trump's 2016 election lawsuit. |
| Supreme Court of the United States | Highest court in the US to which Trump appealed. |
| Donald Trump | Appealed his dismissed lawsuit to the US Supreme Court. |
