Donald Trump is suing Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and several others over allegations that his campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 election.
“The actions taken in furtherance of their scheme — falsifying evidence, deceiving law enforcement, and exploiting access to highly-sensitive data sources — are so outrageous, subversive and incendiary that even the events of Watergate pale in comparison,” a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Thursday said.
In addition to Clinton and the DNC, the defendants include former DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Clinton campaign chief John Podesta, the law firm Perkins Coie, the research firm Fusion GPS, former FBI officials Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, and Christopher Steele, the ex-British intelligence agent who authored the notorious “Trump-Russia dossier” opposition research report before the election.
“When their gambit failed, and Donald J. Trump was elected, the Defendants’ efforts continued unabated, merely shifting their focus to undermining his presidential administration,” the suit says.
The lawsuit seeks more than $72 million in damages, an amount that is triple the $24 million in legal fees and other damages that Trump allegedly has accrued as a result of the defendants’ purported conduct, according to CNBC.
The cases come years after Special Counsel Robert Mueller said the Trump campaign was “receptive” to help from Russia in 2016.
