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Democrats sue Donald Trump's campaign and Russia for interfering in 2016 election

Democrats are accusing the Trump campaign of conspiring with Russia - POOL SPUTNIK KREMLIN
Democrats are accusing the Trump campaign of conspiring with Russia - POOL SPUTNIK KREMLIN

The Democratic Party is suing Russia, Donald Trump's election campaign and WikiLeaks for conspiring to damage Hillary Clinton's chances of winning the 2016 presidential election.

Documents filed in New York federal court show Democrats have opened a fresh front in their campaign against President Donald Trump that could reveal fresh evidence of collusion between his team and Russian officials.

The lawsuit names Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner, Mr Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, and Roger Stone, a colourful Trump confidant, among the defendants.

The Democratic Party alleges that senior Trump aides conspired with the Russian government and its military spy agency to damage Mrs Clinton and tilt the election to Mr Trump by hacking Democratic National Committee (DNC) computers.

"Rather than report these repeated messages that Russia intended to interfere with US elections, the Trump campaign and its agents gleefully welcomed Russia's help," it says.

"Indeed the Trump campaign solicited Russia's illegal assistance, and maintained secret communications with individuals tied to the Russian government, including one of the intelligence agencies responsible for attacking the DNC."

The White House did not immediately return calls for comment although Mr Trump has repeatedly denied that his campaign colluded with Russia.

However, US intelligence agencies believe senior Russian agents were involved in a campaign to skew the vote against Mrs Clinton, by stealing information and spreading fake news.

The scandal has cast a long shadow over the White House and is under investigation by Robert Mueller, appointed special council by the Department of Justice, and Congress.