Hearing begins in London over Donald Trump’s ‘Steele Dossier’ lawsuit

Oct. 16 (UPI) -- A hearing is being held in a London court Monday in former President Donald Trump's lawsuit against a British intelligence consultancy over the salacious "Steele Dossier."

Trump is not in attendance for the hearing, but his attorneys say he wants "vindication" for the allegations that he colluded with Russian officials in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and participated in Russian sex parties.

Trump is campaigning for the Republican nomination for re-election in 2024.

The allegations were brought forth in 2017 with the release of the "Steele Dossier." The report was authored by former MI6 agent Christopher Steele and shared with the FBI and late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. The report was requested by Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign.

Trump claims in the suit that Steele caused him "personal and reputational damage and distress." He has denied the unfounded allegations detailed in the report.

Trump's attorneys said in a filing that the dossier compelled Trump to "explain to his family, friends and colleagues that the embarrassing allegations about his private life were untrue. This was extremely distressing for the claimant."

The dossier was published online by Buzzfeed in 2017. Orbis Business Intelligence, the private firm where Steele is director, argues it is not responsible for the dossier going public.

Anthony White, an attorney for Orbis, argues Trump had agreed that Orbis was not responsible for Buzzfeed publishing the report.

"Any reputational damage, and any resulting distress, allegedly suffered will have been caused by the BuzzFeed publication, for which the claimant accepts Orbis is not liable," White said.

As a new court proceeding begins at the behest of Trump, he is facing multiple criminal trials in the United States. This includes an upcoming trial in Florida over his handling of classified documents. His attorneys are attempting to push that trial date back, claiming it will interfere with other cases and his ongoing presidential campaign.