US: Democrats sue Russia, Trump campaign, WikiLeaks

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The Democratic Party filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit Friday against Russia, the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks for allegedly conspiring to bolster President Donald Trump's 2016 White House bid.

The lawsuit filed in federal court in Manhattan raises the issue of the hacking of the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) servers in the run-up to the election, as well as the disseminating of that information through WikiLeaks.

The lawsuit alleges top Trump campaign officials worked with the Russian military's intelligence unit, the GRU, and WikiLeaks to conduct the "brazen attack on our democracy".

"Russia found a willing partner in the Trump campaign, which shared their goal of hurting the Democratic Party and electing Donald Trump," a statement issued by the DNC said.

"Representatives of all three groups remained in contact with each other as the attack was being executed."

Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion, most recently lashing out on Twitter: "NO COLLUSION and NO OBSTRUCTION" as former FBI Director James Comey's memos of his personal meetings with Trump were released to the public, detailing the president's conversations with him before Trump abruptly fired Comey.

The U.S. has blamed the hacking of the DNC's private servers on Russian intelligence officers operating within the GRU.

Trump is not named in the suit, but it does include those close to him, including his son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner, his son Donald Trump, Jr., former campaign manager Paul Manafort and top campaign aide Richard Gates.

Also named is Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder.

A copy of the suit alleges the Trump campaign "gleefully welcomed Russia's help".

"The Trump campaign solicited Russia's illegal assistance, and maintained secret communications with individuals tied to the Russian government, including one of the intelligence agencies responsible for attacking the DNC," it says.

"The Trump campaign, Trump's closest advisors, and Russian agents formed an agreement to promote Donald Trump's candidacy through illegal means."