Democratic National Committee v. Russian Federation

Democratic National Committee v. Russian Federation
Court	United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Full case name	Democratic National Committee, Plaintiff, v. The Russian Federation; General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation ("GRU"); GRU operative using the pseudonym "Guccifer 2.0"; Aras Iskenerovich Agalarov, Emin Araz Agalarov, Joseph Mifsud, WikiLeaks; Julian Assange; Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.; Donald J. Trump, Jr.; Paul J. Manafort, Jr.; Roger J. Stone, Jr.; Jared C. Kushner; George Papadopoulos; Richard W. Gates, III; John Does 1-10, Defendants
Decided	July 30, 2019
Docket nos.	1:18-cv-03501
Court membership
Judge(s) sitting	John G. Koeltl

Democratic National Committee v. Russian Federation, et al. was a civil lawsuit filed by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against the Russian Federation, WikiLeaks and other entities and individuals. The case, relating to Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections, was filed on April 20, 2018.^[1] The DNC's complaint accused the Trump campaign of engaging in a racketeering enterprise in conjunction with Russia and WikiLeaks.^[1] The American Civil Liberties Union, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and others filed friend-of-the-court briefs expressing concern over the lawsuit's implications for freedom of the press.^[2]

Judge John G. Koeltl presided over the case,^[3] prior to dismissing it with prejudice on July 30, 2019.^[4] In dismissing the case, Judge Koeltl wrote that holding WikiLeaks liable for the publication of DNC emails would endanger press freedom, and that the Russian Federation enjoys sovereign immunity.^[2]