The Trump campaign is requesting that a federal court sanction the Democratic National Committee (DNC) over its lawsuit alleging that the campaign conspired with Russia to interfere in the 2016 election, citing special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.
In a court filing Tuesday evening, attorneys for the campaign said Mueller’s findings show that the campaign did not work with Russia to meddle in the election, and that the charges against the campaign should be dismissed and the DNC sanctioned as a result.
{mosads}“In an over-400-page Report, the Special Counsel not only explains that his investigation ‘did not establish’ any such conspiracy or coordination, but debunks any such conclusion by walking through the vast body of evidence that his Office collected and establishing that none of this evidence showed that the Campaign formed any sort of agreement with Russia,” the court filing reads.
“In so doing, the Report makes clear that the DNC will never be able to prove the key allegations underlying all of its claims against the Campaign.”
Calling the lawsuit “a politically motivated sham case,” the campaign said the DNC is acting to move forward with the complaint “all in a doomed effort to prove a falsehood.”
“In short, since the DNC’s frivolous legal theories have now been exposed as resting on frivolous factual fantasies, these are two independent reasons to terminate this sham political litigation before it does even more harm,” the filing reads.
The Trump campaign is asking that the claims against them be dismissed permanently, and for the Democrats to reimburse them for all legal fees and costs caused by the lawsuit. It is also asking that oral arguments be held over whether sanctions should be issued.
The DNC on Wednesday pointed to a letter the committee sent to the campaign earlier this month, obtained by Courthouse News, indicating that it will not give up the legal fight against the campaign in light of Mueller’s report.
“[T]he Special Counsel’s Report does not ‘refute’ the DNC’s claim that the Trump Campaign conspired with Russia. Rather, the Report methodically compiles evidence that the Trump Campaign participated in Russia’s plan to interfere in the 2016 election,” DNC lawyer Joseph Sellers wrote in the letter sent to the Trump campaign on Sunday.
Sellers said any attempt by the Trump campaign to pursue sanctions against the DNC would be “wholly groundless” and could ultimately result in sanctions being placed against the campaign.
Mueller wrote in the redacted version of his report that was released publicly in April, “the evidence was not sufficient to charge that any member of the Trump campaign conspired with representatives of the Russian government to interfere in the 2016 election.”
The DNC first filed its lawsuit over the 2016 election interference in April 2018, targeting the Trump campaign, Russia, WikiLeaks and other figures including Roger Stone.
— This post was updated at 12:08 p.m.