The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Russia, the Trump campaign and Wikileaks over an alleged 12 offences, including conspiracy, fraud and violations of the Wiretap Act.
The suit comes in response to an alleged cyberattack on the DNC by Russia. Trump is also accused of both being aware of and supporting their efforts to undermine the DNC. Such offences are considered to have contributed to an illegal interference of the 2016 presidential election.
The Washington Post reports that DNC Chairman Tom Perez said: “During the 2016 presidential campaign, Russia launched an all-out assault on our democracy, and it found a willing and active partner in Donald Trump’s campaign.”
He continued: “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.”
According to CNN, the Trump campaign called the lawsuit “frivolous”, with Campaign Manager Brad Parscale stating: “This is a sham lawsuit about a bogus Russian collusion claim filed by a desperate, dysfunctional, and nearly insolvent Democratic Party.
“With the Democrats' conspiracy theories against the President's campaign evaporating as quickly as the failing DNC's fundraising, they've sunk to a new low to raise money, especially among small donors who have abandoned them.”
DNC officials hope to recover monetary damages with the lawsuit. One such official said: “We are not going to just stand by and let Russia hack the DNC. We are the victims.”
The lawsuit additionally names several Trump advisors, including Donald Trump Jr., Campaign Chairman Paul Manafort, long-time Trump confidant Roger Stone, former Campaign Adviser George Papadopoulos, Julian Assange and WikiLeaks.
Trump continues to insist that there is no collusion between his campaign and any Russian involvement.
