BREAKING: A federal judge DISMISSES the DNC's lawsuit against the Trump campaign, Russia, WikiLeaks et al. with prejudice, and DENIES the Trump campaign's sanctions motion.
Background on the lawsuit, via @CourthouseNews.
Opinion soon.
@CourthouseNews Judge Koeltl says the "primary wrongdoer" in the hacking was Russia, which he said is immune under the FSIA.
Here was the link to the background on the filing of the suit: courthousenews.com/dnc-suit-accus…
Developing story soon.
@CourthouseNews As for the "second-level participants" in the alleged racketeering scheme, Koeltl says that they are shielded by the First Amendment from liability related to disseminating the stolen emails.
@CourthouseNews Read the 81-page ruling in full here: documentcloud.org/documents/6225…
Story in a bit.
@CourthouseNews Judge Koeltl, a Clinton appointee, cited the Pentagon Papers case in finding that there could not be liability for the publication of stolen materials.
@CourthouseNews "If @WikiLeaks could be held liable for publishing documents concerning the DNC’s political financial and voter-engagement strategies simply because the DNC labels them 'secret' and trade secrets, then so could any newspaper or other media outlet."
-Judge Koeltl on 1A concerns
@CourthouseNews @wikileaks DEVELOPING story for @CourthouseNews on the ruling dismissing the DNC's suit. Still awaiting comment from many of the parties, and a new update is in the editing queue.
Standby for more. courthousenews.com/dnc-loses-rack…
DNC spokeswoman Adrienne Watson just sent me this statement.
Story will be updated soon.
From Roger Stone’s attorney, with echoes of George Papadopoulos’s attorney’s statement.
This statement from Trump is misleading.
The judge did not say the DNC case was “entirely divorced” from the facts. He wrote that the DNC’s claim that Trump campaign and Russia conspired in the hack itself was “entirely divorced” from what they alleged in the lawsuit.
The distinction is subtle but important.
Judges don’t decide the facts on a motion to dismiss. They rule on whether the allegations represent a plausible claim.
Final updates coming up soon.
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