Washington (CNN) A federal judge Tuesday dismissed the Democratic National Committee's lawsuit against Russia, the Trump campaign and a number of individuals including Jared Kushner and Donald Trump Jr., saying the claims are either "moot" or "without merit."

Judge John Koeltl in New York ruled Trump campaign officials are protected under the First Amendment and cannot be held accountable for harming the DNC after it was hacked. The lawsuit was filed against a number of individuals the DNC alleged were in so-called collusion, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, conservative ally Roger Stone, the Trump campaign, Trump Jr., Kushner, Julian Assange and WikiLeaks.

The DNC had touted the lawsuit as a major way to fight back against the hack it suffered and to hold various Trump campaign officials accountable.

The Russian government cannot be sued in this way, Koeltl found, because it is a sovereign nation.

Additionally, the judge found that Trump campaign officials couldn't be held accountable for the publication of documents because of the way the DNC wrote its lawsuit, attributing the hack only to Russia.

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