Judge tosses defamation suit against dossier author Christopher Steele filed by Russian oligarchs

A judge dismissed a defamation suit filed by three Russian oligarchs against former British spy Christopher Steele over his infamous dossier linking the Trump campaign to the Kremlin.

D.C. Superior Court Judge Anthony Epstein tossed the suit filed by Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven and German Khan claiming that Steele and his intelligence firm Orbis had recklessly defamed them, reported The Guardian.

The judge, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush, upheld a motion filed by Steele to have the case thrown out.

Epstein ruled the dossier was covered by the First Amendment and found the oligarchs had failed to prove Steele knew that some information in the report was inaccurate.

The judge did not determine whether the dossier, which President Donald Trump has frequently dismissed as "phony," was accurate or inaccurate.