Democratic Party sues Trump, Russia over 2016 campaign 'treachery'

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Washington - The left-leaning opposition Democratic Party filed a lawsuit Friday alleging that Donald Trump's presidential campaign conspired with the Russian government to meddle in the 2016 election. The suit filed in federal court in New York accuses the Trump campaign of working with Russian intelligence and the Wikileaks organization - also named as a defendant - to hack the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and damage the party's presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton. The lawsuit comes amid an investigation led by Justice Department special counsel Robert Mueller into Russian election meddling, including ties to Trump's presidential bid. DNC Chairman Tom Perez said that Moscow waged "an all-out assault on our democracy, and it found a willing and active partner in Donald Trump's campaign." ALSO READ: Russia did not meddle in US vote, Putin tells Trump

Perez said that the relationship "constituted an act of unprecedented treachery: the campaign of a nominee for President of the United States in league with a hostile foreign power to bolster its own chance to win the presidency."

There was no immediate response from the White House.

Trump late Thursday tweeted that there was "NO COLLUSION and NO OBSTRUCTION" as he repeated his claim that the Mueller probe is a "witch hunt."

The Democratic Party lawsuit seeks millions of dollars in damages.

DPA