Democrats Sue Trump Campaign, Russia, WikiLeaks Over 2016 Election
Lawsuit seeks damages over alleged hack into the DNC’s computer network
The Democratic National Committee sued the Russian government, the Trump campaign and the antisecrecy group WikiLeaks on Friday, accusing them of conspiring to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.
The lawsuit alleges a wide-ranging conspiracy ahead of the election to hack into the DNC’s computer network and strategically leak the stolen information to bolster Donald Trump’s chances of winning the election.
Among the defendants are the Russian Federation, the Trump campaign, WikiLeaks, Donald Trump Jr. , former Trump campaign Chairman Paul Manafort, longtime Trump associate Roger Stone and Mr. Trump’s son-in-law and White House adviser Jared Kushner.
The suit, filed in Manhattan federal court, seeks an unspecified amount of damages and requests a jury trial. The DNC said it paid more than $1 million in the fallout of the hack to repair electronic equipment and hire additional staff.
The DNC accuses the defendants of violating a range of federal laws, including antihacking and racketeering laws.
The lawsuit alleges the Trump campaign acted like a “racketeering enterprise,” saying Trump associates and employees of WikiLeaks encouraged Russia to hack into the DNC, with the expectation that WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange, “would disseminate those secrets and increase the Trump Campaign’s chance of winning the election.”