Fantasy on the debate stage and fantasy in the courtroom.
In unusually frank language, a federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit over hacked documents by the Democratic National Committee against the Trump campaign, saying they “did not participate in any wrongdoing in obtaining the materials in the first place.”
The DNC lawsuit was silly. It tried to show that the Trump campaign worked hand in glove with WikiLeaks, the hacking outfit that published the Democrats’ documents. In the 81-page opinion, the judge, Clinton appointee John Koeltl, slammed the suit as “entirely divorced” from the facts in the case.
The DNC had asserted in court filings that the Trump team’s meetings “with persons connected to the Russian government during the time that the Russian GRU agents were stealing the DNC’s information” were “circumstantial evidence” that they were conspiring with the Russians to “steal and disseminate the DNC’s materials.”
The suit did not allege that the stolen materials were false or defamatory but rather sought to hold the Trump team and other defendants liable for the theft of the DNC’s information under various Virginia and federal statutes, including the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, Wiretap Act, Stored Communications Act, Digital Millenium Copyright Act, and laws protecting trade secrets.
Wrong on all counts, said the judge.
The DNC first filed its suit in April 2018, and the defendants responded that the First Amendment legally protected the dissemination of stolen materials.
“In short, the DNC raises a number of connections and communications between the defendants and with people loosely connected to the Russian Federation, but at no point does the DNC allege any facts … to show that any of the defendants — other than the Russian Federation — participated in the theft of the DNC’s information,” Koeltl said.
“Nor does the DNC allege that the defendants ever agreed to help the Russian Federation steal the DNC’s documents,” he added.
Trump did his usual sack dance:
….vindication & exoneration from the Russian, WikiLeaks and every other form of HOAX perpetrated by the DNC, Radical Democrats and others. This is really big “stuff” especially coming from a highly respected judge who was appointed by President Clinton. The Witch Hunt Ends!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 30, 2019
A cold bucket of reality, to be sure.
Why do Democrats keep beating the dead horse of Russian collusion? Because they think it’s a winning issue for them in 2020. This, despite the fact that the American people know that the Mueller probe into Russian “collusion” came up empty and that the outcome of the investigation convinced few people beyond rabidly partisan Democrats that Trump should be impeached.
It’s fascinating to watch, isn’t it? An entire political party marching in lockstep toward the edge of a cliff, determined to commit suicide.
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