Trump-Russia collusion: Democratic Party files lawsuit

Bloomberg

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) ued Russia, the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks claiming widespread interference in the 2016 election as part of a “brazen attack on American democracy”.
The civil lawsuit could force President Donald Trump’s 2016 staffers to answer questions under oath about campaign activities. Evidence gathered by the DNC could be made public in court filings and at a trial — in contrast to information obtained through Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian interference, which might remain secret.
Many of the allegations reflect conclusions of major US intelligence agencies and come from guilty pleas and legal filings by Mueller, who is investigating links between Russia and
the campaign.
The suit names Trump associates including Jared Kushner, Roger Stone and Donald Trump Jr., along with aides prosecuted by Mueller, signalling the DNC intends to cast a
wide net.
“Russia launched an all-out assault on our democracy, and it found a willing and active partner in Donald Trump’s campaign,” DNC Chairman Tom Perez said. “This constituted an act of unprecedented treachery: the campaign of a nominee for president of the United States in league with a hostile foreign power to bolster its own chance to win the presidency.”
With Trump threatening to fire Mueller and members of Congress resistant to the probe, the lawsuit, if it survives the defendants’ likely dismissal bid, offers an opportunity for Democrats to push forward with their own investigation.
The suit is being filed now because the DNC learned in April 2016 that it had been hacked and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act has a two-year statute of limitations, a person with knowledge of the case said. The person, who asked not to be identified, said the committee and its lawyers have been engaged in a lengthy information-gathering process.
The complaint, filed in Manhattan federal court, includes claims of computer fraud, trespass and racketeering and seeks unspecified damages, along with a declaration that the campaign, Russia and WikiLeaks conspired to steal information.
Trump said he welcomed the suit by the “obstructionist” Democrats. “This can be good news in that we will now counter for the DNC Server that they refused to give to the FBI,” he tweeted.
Beginning in mid-2016, WikiLeaks released almost 20,000 emails from inside the DNC that showed, among other things, how staffers had favored Hillary Clinton during her primary campaign against Bernie Sanders — prompting Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida to resign as committee head.
Later in the campaign, WikiLeaks released tens of thousands of emails from the Gmail account of John Podesta, Clinton’s campaign chairman.
The disclosures proved to be a source of embarrassment for the Clinton campaign, muddying its message. WikiLeaks began releasing Podesta’s emails almost immediately after Trump was heard boasting of lewd conduct on a 2005 “Access Hollywood” tape.

‘Without Merit’
The Trump campaign called the lawsuit “frivolous” and “without merit.” “This is a sham lawsuit about a bogus Russian collusion claim filed by a desperate, dysfunctional, and nearly insolvent Democratic Party,” Brad Parscale, the manager of Trump’s reelection campaign, said.
Though the campaign said it expects the case to be dismissed, Parscale said if it moves ahead, their lawyers will engage in “aggressive discovery into their claims of ‘damages’ and uncover their acts of corruption for the American people.”
Among the issues the campaign would pursue, he said, are the DNC’s role in funding an unverified dossier alleging links between Russia and Trump, as well as management decisions made by top Democrats.
While grassroots energy on the left has boosted Democratic candidates and prompted a flood of new candidates to run for office, the DNC has struggled. It raised $67 million in 2017, half as much as the Republican National Committee.