Trump sues Hillary Clinton, DNC over Russian collusion allegations

Former President Trump on Thursday filed a sprawling civil lawsuit against 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee (DNC), White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and more than a dozen others alleging a vast conspiracy to undermine his 2016 presidential campaign and administration with accusations of Russian collusion.

“Acting in concert, the Defendants maliciously conspired to weave a false narrative that their Republican opponent, Donald J. Trump, was colluding with a hostile foreign sovereignty,” a 108-page complaint filed Thursday said.

“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.”

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, claims that the former president has suffered at least $24 million in damages in addition to the loss of present and future business due to Clinton, the DNC and others.

Trump alleges that Clinton, her 2016 campaign and various figures associated with it participated in a “far-reaching conspiracy” to incite a media frenzy and law enforcement investigation into his purported ties with the Russian government.

His lawsuit argues that the alleged conspiracy constituted a criminal enterprise under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

The complaint names as defendants 28 individuals and organizations, including Clinton, her 2016 campaign chairman John Podesta, the campaign’s general counsel Marc Elias, former FBI Director James Comey and others.

Clinton and several other defendants could not immediately be reached for comment.

The lengthy complaint rehashes many of the grievances Trump has repeatedly aired since the 2016 campaign. In sum, he has maintained that the various investigations into that campaign were part of a politically motivated witch hunt against him.

The lawsuit comes as Trump has voiced frustration with the progress of John Durham, the special counsel appointed during his administration to investigate the origins of the FBI’s probe of his 2016 campaign.

Durham’s probe has resulted in three indictments since it began in 2019 but has provided little evidence of a vast conspiracy to undermine Trump.

Updated at 3:24 p.m. Caroline Vakil contributed.