Trump Sues Clinton Over 2016 Russian Collusion Allegations

By Staff, Agencies

Former US president Donald Trump on Thursday sued his rival in the 2016 presidential election, Hillary Clinton, along with several other Democrats, alleging that they tried to rig the election by tying his campaign to Russia.

"Acting in concert, the Defendants maliciously conspired to weave a false narrative that their Republican opponent, Donald J. Trump, was colluding with a hostile foreign sovereignty," the former president alleged in a 108-page lawsuit filed in a federal court in Florida, Reuters reported.

The suit alleges "racketeering" and a "conspiracy to commit injurious falsehood," among other claims.

A Clinton representative did not respond to a request for comment by Reuters.

The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages. Trump said he was "forced to incur expenses in an amount to be determined at trial, but known to be in excess of $24,000,000 and continuing to accrue, in the form of defense costs, legal fees, and related expenses," Reuters added.

According to a lawyer specializing in racketeering cases, Jeff Grell, Trump may have waited too long to bring his racketeering claims, as there is a four-year statute of limitations that governs civil racketeering claims. However, there is usually a considerable dispute about when that four-year period begins to run.

The defendants in Trump's lawsuit include Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer.