Trump and Putin in connection with the Steele case
In a significant legal development, US President Donald Trump has accepted that Orbis Business Intelligence, the firm behind the infamous Steele Dossier, is not legally responsible for the publication of the document by online news outlet Buzzfeed in 2017. This acceptance comes as part of a lawsuit Trump filed against Orbis in the UK, which sought damages for alleged misuse of private information and harm to his reputation.
The lawsuit, which has now concluded, was based on the Steele Dossier, a 35-page document from 2016 that contained specific allegations about Trump's supposed sexual escapades in Russia before his presidency. The dossier, which was commissioned by organisations associated with Hillary Clinton's Democratic presidential campaign, alleged that Russian intelligence might have compromising material on Trump.
Orbis Business Intelligence, founded by former MI-6 agent Christopher Steele, produced the dossier based on information collected in 2016. The company was hired by Fusion GPS, which was in turn employed by the law firm Perkins Coie, paid largely by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Clinton campaign for related services.
Trump and his allies have repeatedly claimed that Steele was paid millions of dollars for the dossier; however, actual payments to Steele's firm were much less—around $168,000. Despite these claims, Trump has been ordered to pay 626,000 pounds (approximately 727,000 euros) in legal costs related to the lawsuit.
Trump has denied all allegations of perverse sexual behavior, including the claim that he paid prostitutes to perform "golden showers" in the presidential suite of a Moscow hotel. The term "golden showers" refers to urinating for sexual gratification. The Steele Dossier suggested that the Russian intelligence service FSB might have footage of such a sex party from 2013.
The investigation by the US Department of Justice found that the FBI had doubts about the dossier's reliability, suggesting it could be a deliberate disinformation campaign from Moscow. Despite these doubts, many US media outlets now refer to the dossier as "discredited".
Trump's relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin has been a subject of speculation for a long time. The Steele Dossier alleged that Putin supported Trump to divide the transatlantic alliance and return to 19th-century power politics, but no proof was provided.
Trump dismissed the claims in the Steele Dossier as "fake news" and a "witch hunt". Many find it inexplicable that Trump seems friendly towards Putin, the Russian leader. As of now, Orbis Intelligence reports that Trump has not paid the legal costs.
The current status of the lawsuit indicates the UK court's unfavorable stance towards Trump's claims in this case. It is not clear if Trump is pursuing further legal action against Orbis in the UK as of August 2025.
- The ongoing politics surrounding war-and-conflicts and policy-and-legislation has been evident in the case of US President Donald Trump's lawsuit against Orbis Business Intelligence, a firm involved in the creation of the infamous Steele Dossier, which was embroiled in general-news and crime-and-justice due to its allegations against Trump.
- The Steele Dossier, a document containing specific allegations about Trump's personal life, was commissioned by organizations associated with Hillary Clinton's Democratic presidential campaign, shedding light on the intertwining of politics and the production of sensitive information.
- Despite the conclusion of Trump's lawsuit against Orbis, the Steele Dossier continues to be a subject of debate in the realm of crime-and-justice and general-news, with many referring to it as "discredited" while others, including Trump, dismiss it as "fake news".
