Trump asks Supreme Court to revive dismissed Clinton lawsuit
Source published: Oct 9, 2026 · 11:09 PM EDT · Event: 2026-10-09
President Donald Trump and attorney Alina Habba asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the dismissal of Trump's 2022 civil lawsuit against Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee, former FBI Director James Comey and others, and to overturn sanctions approaching $1 million. Trump alleged that Clinton and others conspired to damage his 2016 campaign by falsely linking it to Russia. Those claims are Trump's allegations, not judicial findings. U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks dismissed the case and later sanctioned Trump and Habba, finding that the litigation contained knowingly false factual allegations, advanced frivolous legal theories and reflected abusive tactics. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed the dismissal and sanctions in November 2025, apart from directing that claims against one defendant be dismissed without prejudice for lack of personal jurisdiction.
Response / context
Reuters reports that the petition argues the limitations period should have been extended because Trump deferred suing while serving his first presidential term and contends Supreme Court review is needed to protect the presidency from sanctions over rejected legal positions. Those are the petitioners' arguments, not Supreme Court findings. The Eleventh Circuit's published opinion said many of Trump and Habba's arguments were frivolous and upheld the district court's sanctions orders. Reuters did not report a new response from Clinton or the other respondents, and the Supreme Court had not acted on the petition when this brief was checked. Filing a petition does not mean the Court will hear the case; the lower-court judgment and sanctions remain in effect unless altered by later proceedings. The Supreme Court docket confirms the lower-court case numbers and the October 9 filing deadline, but its public entries had not yet posted the petition itself at the time of review.
Dates and scope
Source publication: Oct 9, 2026 · 11:09 PM EDT
Event or conduct: 2026-10-09. Trump and Alina Habba filed their petition October 9, the deadline previously extended by Justice Clarence Thomas. Reuters reported the filing at 11:36 p.m. UTC; the Supreme Court's public docket still displayed the extension proceedings when checked.
Dated report. Publication, event and review times are different; the review time is when the sources were last checked, not a live update.
This brief preserves the available response and disposition. Coverage is non-exhaustive. How we review sources.
Read the original sources
- Supreme Court of the United States: Docket No. 26A134, Donald J. Trump et al. v. Hillary R. Clinton et al. ↗
Primary docket confirming the parties, Eleventh Circuit case numbers and Justice Thomas's extension of the petition deadline to October 9; the petition entry had not yet appeared when checked
- U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit: Trump et al. v. Clinton et al., consolidated opinion ↗
Primary November 26, 2025 opinion affirming the dismissal and sanctions, while modifying the dismissal posture for one defendant based on personal jurisdiction
- Reuters: Trump takes suit against Hillary Clinton over 2016 election to Supreme Court ↗
Authoritative October 9 report on the new petition, the petitioners' arguments, lower-court findings and the unresolved Supreme Court posture
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