President Donald Trump is keeping his long-running legal fight with Hillary Clinton alive, aiming to take the failed case to the Supreme Court after lower courts rejected it and upheld nearly $1 million in sanctions. The next deadline is now Sept. 9, giving his lawyers another month to make the pitch.
The Supreme Court docket shows Justice Clarence Thomas granted Trump's application Wednesday, extending the deadline for a certiorari petition from Aug. 10 to Sept. 9. The development was first reported by SCOTUSblog, which reported that Trump plans to ask the justices to revive his lawsuit accusing Clinton, the Democratic National Committee and others of conspiring to damage his 2016 campaign with false Russia-collusion claims.
In the extension application, Trump's attorneys say they intend to challenge the Eleventh Circuit's treatment of the statute of limitations, including whether the clock should have been paused while Trump was president and while related conduct was being investigated by federal agencies. The filing only extends the deadline; it is not yet a petition, and the Supreme Court has not agreed to hear the case.
Lower Courts Have Already Rejected The Lawsuit
The Eleventh Circuit's November ruling affirmed the dismissal of Trump's remaining claims as untimely and meritless, while also upholding sanctions against Trump, Alina Habba and her law firm. The court said the sanctions totaled $937,989.39 and found the attorneys jointly and severally liable for the fees and costs.
Trump filed the lawsuit in 2022 against 28 named defendants, alleging that Clinton and her allies helped manufacture a false narrative that his campaign colluded with Russia. The extension filing notes that the Eleventh Circuit denied rehearing on May 12, leaving the Supreme Court as Trump's next potential stop in a case that has already survived multiple rounds of dismissal and appeal.
That stop is far from guaranteed. The Supreme Court's own explainer says review is discretionary and generally requires four justices to vote to accept a petition, meaning Trump's filing could still end with the case staying exactly where the lower courts left it.
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