WASHINGTON: The Democratic Party in the United States has filed a lawsuit alleging that top officials from Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, Russia and WikiLeaks conspired to influence the Republican’s White House bid in his favour.
The civil complaint filed on Friday accused that Moscow informed Trump’s campaign that it had conducted a cyber attack on the Democratic National Committee (DNC), leading to the release of information damaging to the party’s presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton.
The lawsuit alleged that Trump’s campaign “gleefully welcomed Russia’s help” in the 2016 elections and accused it of being a “racketeering enterprise” that worked in tandem with Moscow. It also involved WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange, saying that they gave Trump team officials “advanced knowledge” they were publishing the information.
“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,” said Tom Perez, DNC chairman. “This constituted an act of unprecedented treachery.” In response, Trump’s campaign said later on Friday that the lawsuit was “completely without merit and will be dismissed in due time.”
“This frivolous lawsuit is a last-ditch effort to substantiate the baseless Russian collusion allegations by a nearly-bankrupt Democratic Party still trying to counter the will of the people in the 2016 presidential election,” a statement issued by Donald J Trump for President Inc said.
Trump has repeatedly denied his campaign colluded with Russia, and Moscow has rejected accusations of meddling in the election.
