Donald Trump required to pay $380K in legal fees if he returns to UK over failed Steele dossier lawsuit

LONDON, UK: Donald Trump will be forced to pay over $380,000 in legal fees if he sets foot in the United Kingdom again, according to former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele.

This stems from Trump's unsuccessful lawsuit against Steele over the infamous Steele dossier, which was commissioned by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign in 2016.

Steele Dossier warns of payment enforcement if Donald Trump returns to UK

The dossier, now widely discredited, was a piece of opposition research that contained unverified intelligence reports about Trump’s alleged connections with Russia.

Trump's lawsuit aimed to challenge the credibility and impact of the dossier, but he lost the case in a London court earlier this year. Consequently, the court ordered Trump to pay £300,000 (approximately $381,000) in legal fees.

In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) on Friday, Steele reiterated his intention to collect the money if Trump ever returns to the UK. "Earlier this year, when he lost his English High Court case against us, the judge ordered Donald Trump to pay Orbis an initial £300k in costs. Trump, who claims to respect the UK, has now been in breach of this order for two months and faces enforcement if he travels here again," he tweeted.

Donald Trump’s UK assets

There is uncertainty regarding whether Trump needs to physically be in the UK for enforcement actions to take place. Trump holds significant assets in the UK, including the Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire, Scotland.

However, as this property is owned by a subsidiary of the Trump Organization, it remains unclear whether Steele could successfully claim the money from it.

Elon Musk accuses Steele Dossier of election interference

Adding to the political turmoil, Elon Musk recently suggested that the Steele Dossier amounted to Democratic Party election interference. "This seems like a double standard," Musk said on X.

"The Steele Dossier was unquestionably election interference," he added. However, many users pointed out that the dossier was not released until January 2017, well after the 2016 election had concluded.

Donald Trump's lawsuits in both the UK and the US

Earlier this year, a British judge dismissed Trump's lawsuit against Steele's company, Orbis, and instructed him to cover the legal expenses.

Additionally, in 2022, a US court dismissed Trump's lawsuit against Steele, Clinton, and federal law enforcement officials, rejecting Trump's assertion that the dossier led to the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Mueller's 2019 report, spanning 448 pages, did not find evidence of collusion between Trump's campaign and the Russian government.

Netizens react to Donald Trump’s legal battle with Steele 

A user tweeted, "Trump as a convicted felon, cannot travel to the UK or about 36 other countries!!"

Another added, "If Biden keeps pushing Russia London will be flattened by September so who cares. You have chosen poorly."

A user tweeted, "Never heard of it, don't care. There will be a lot of renegotiating when he wins again. Meanwhile, the UK is so spoogified it needs to worry about descending into the status of Namibia or Peru." [sic]

"You should sue him for contempt of court. There are consequences for not complying with the English court’s orders," read a tweet. "The Steele dossier was election interference," chimed another.

"Can they garnish his presidential pension?" mockingly questioned a user.

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