DROPPED

Judge Dismisses DNC Lawsuit Against Trump Campaign Over 2016 Election Interference

The lawsuit, which was filed in 2018, was brought against the Trump campaign, WikiLeaks, and the Russian government over alleged interference.

A federal judge has dismissed the Democratic National Committee’s lawsuit brought against President Trump’s campaign, WikiLeaks, and the Russian government. “The primary wrongdoer in this alleged criminal enterprise is undoubtedly the Russian Federation, the first named defendant in the case and the entity that surreptitiously and illegally hacked into the DNC’s computers and thereafter disseminated the results of its theft,” wrote U.S. District Judge John Koeltl. “The Russian Federation cannot be sued in the courts of the United States for governmental actions... just as the United States government generally cannot be sued in courts abroad for its actions.” Koeltl ruled that the U.S. Constitution protects the non-Russian entities named in the suit from being liable for disseminating the information, as long as the non-Russian actors did not conspire with Russia to obtain the information in the first place.

The multimillion-dollar suit was filed in April 2018 and alleged that top Trump campaign officials conspired with Russia to damage Hillary Clinton’s campaign. “To the extent not specifically addressed, the arguments are either moot or without merit,” Koeltl wrote in the filing Tuesday. The DNC’s complaint was dismissed with prejudice, and the Trump campaign’s motion for sanctions was denied. The suit was dismissed in the Southern District of New York.