Trump hit with loss as court declines to rehear lawsuit against key presidential enemies

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit has declined to rehear President Donald Trump's lawsuit against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey, and dozens of other defendants.

Trump filed the lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, alleging that the defendants conspired to falsely claim his campaign had colluded with Russia during the 2016 election.

The district court initially dismissed the lawsuit. Afterward, Trump and his then-attorney, Alina Habba, were hit with $1 million in sanctions for filing frivolous claims and pleadings.

In November 2025, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the sanctions.

"Many of Trump's and Habba's legal arguments were indeed frivolous," Chief Judge William Pryor Jr. wrote for the unanimous panel.

On Tuesday, the panel of judges said they were also refusing to rehear the case.

"The Petition for Rehearing En Banc is DENIED, no judge in regular active service on the Court having requested that the Court be polled on rehearing en banc," the court's ruling said. "The Petition for Panel Rehearing also is DENIED."

The en banc denial is significant because it means that no active judge on the full Eleventh Circuit even requested a vote to rehear it, suggesting there was no appetite on the court to revisit the outcome.