Democratic Party sues Russia, Trump, WikiLeaks over 2016 hacks
The DNC alleges the Russian government worked with the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks to help the former reality star win the election.
The DNC is suing Russia, the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks over hacks during the 2016 presidential election.
The Democratic National Committee is going after Russia, the Trump campaign, and WikiLeaks over cyberattacks during the 2016 US presidential election.
The 2016 race to the White House was riddled with controversies, including emails leaked after Russian hackers infiltrated the DNC's network. In a lawsuit filed Friday, the DNC alleges the Russian government worked with Donald Trump's campaign and WikiLeaks to help the former reality star win the election.
The defendants listed in the lawsuit include Guccifer 2.0, the hacker behind the dumped emails; Donald J. Trump Jr., the president's son; and Julian Assange, WikiLeaks' founder.
"In the run-up to the 2016 election, Russia mounted a brazen attack on American Democracy," the lawsuit alleges. "The opening salvo was a cyberattack on the DNC, carried out on American soil."
The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in New York, says Russian intelligence agents hacked the DNC's computers, infiltrated its phone systems and stole tens of thousands of documents and emails. It also alleges the Trump campaign willingly cooperated with the Russian effort, and knowingly used emails stolen in the hack.
The White House didn't respond to a request for comment. On Twitter the president has said multiple times, including Friday morning, that there was no collusion between his campaign and Russia.
James Comey Memos just out and show clearly that there was NO COLLUSION and NO OBSTRUCTION. Also, he leaked classified information. WOW! Will the Witch Hunt continue?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 20, 2018
Later Friday, Trump tweeted specifically about the lawsuit: "Just heard the Campaign was sued by the Obstructionist Democrats," he wrote. Trump added that it's "good news" because the defendants can now "counter" for access to the servers of the DNC and former DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and other documents.
Just heard the Campaign was sued 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, the Debbie Wasserman Schultz Servers and Documents held by the Pakistani mystery man and Clinton Emails.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 20, 2018
The lawsuit points to a campaign moment when Trump publicly suggested Russian hackers should release Hillary Clinton's emails. It also references tweets from Trump between July 24, 2016, and Nov. 6, 2016 -- two days before the election.
"Russia's cyberattack on the DNC began only weeks after Trump announced his candidacy for president of the United States in June of 2015," the lawsuit states.
The DNC said it paid more than $1 million to repair its electronics, and hire staff and consultants to address the hack. It's seeking millions in compensation for the attacks.
WikiLeaks responded to the lawsuit in a tweet, calling the DNC "corrupt."
Comment on DNC lawsuit: "DNC is suing WikiLeaks for spectacularly revealing that the DNC rigged its primaries on behalf of Hillary Clinton. The DNC was so corrupt that five of its officers, including its president, were forced to resign." https://t.co/xHDB85FdEw
— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) April 20, 2018
You can view the lawsuit here:
DNC vs. Russian Federation by jonathan_skillings on Scribd
First published, April 20, 9:21 a.m. PT
Updates, 11:30 a.m.: Embeds the lawsuit; 12:08 p.m.: Adds mention of WikiLeaks tweet; 4:53 p.m.: Adds Trump's tweet about the lawsuit.
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