Team Trump wants to use the Mueller report as a new gendarme for the audience rooms

The personalities of the Trump-Russia saga are trying to equip themselves with a new weapon in the context of an ongoing judicial battle against the Democratic National Committee: the 448-page report of Robert Special Advocate Mueller.

In a series of documents tabled late Monday, several defendants cited the report as they sought to file a lawsuit filed by the DNC in April 2018, alleging an international conspiracy involving figures related to Trump and Russia in order to of the 2016 presidential election.

"In fact, it is now clear that there is no scenario in which the DNC could plausibly plead claims against the campaign," said a trustee on behalf of the 2016 Trump campaign . "Indeed, the special advocate has directly rebutted many of the key allegations and conclusions that underlie the DNC's claims.The findings of the special advocate confirm that the time has come to end to this politically motivated trial. "

Carolyn Kaster / AP, FILE

Although Mueller's report indicates that the investigation revealed that the Russian government thought it would benefit from the victory of President Donald Trump and that the Trump campaign "was waiting for that stolen information and disseminated through the efforts of Russia benefit the electorate, "said the report – as highlighted in Monday's statement. filing – "has not established that members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its activities of electoral interference."

Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, and long-time political friend and adviser Roger Stone, also referred to the Mueller report in separate documents on Monday in support of March's motions for inadmissibility. Trump has not personally been named as defendant in the lawsuit.

A source familiar with the DNC's legal strategy has argued that this rule probably would not prevail in this case, as judges generally rule on dismissal motions based on the merits of the plaintiff's claim, and not on external sources.

"The Mueller report has no relevance to the cases currently before the court," the source said.

The source added that – more broadly – the Mueller report was actually beneficial for the DNC's civil case, which imposes a less onerous burden of proof than a criminal case. The source stated that although the report "did not conclude beyond a reasonable doubt, there was reason to conclude that there was a criminal conspiracy … many factual findings were exactly what was alleged" in the trial. initiated by the DNC.

"There was a reason to be encouraged," the source said.

Alpeyrie ullstein bild via Getty Images, FILE

In anticipation of the 2016 presidential election, Russian hackers stole a plethora of e-mails and documents from the DNC, as well as other Democratic targets, and leaked them online via the anti website. -secret WikiLeaks, according to the US intelligence community and an indictment previously filed by the Mueller team against a number of Russians. At the time, the leaks were backed by the Trump campaign, including publicly by the then candidate, Trump, during a speech in October 2016 at a rally in New York. which he told a Florida audience: "This WikiLeaks content is amazing … it tells you the inner heart, you have to read it."

In its lawsuit, the DNC linked piracy to several controversial interactions between Trump-related personalities and Russian-related personalities, and alleged a "previously unimaginable act of treason: the presidential candidate's campaign". a large party associated with a hostile alien power to strengthen his own chance to win the presidency ". Specifically, the DNC alleges violations of the law on the organization of influence and corruption of Racketeer, called RICO.

In a previous motion for dismissal, the Trump campaign echoed the president's repeated assertion that the accusations against Russia were solely to "explain [the DNC] the defeat of the candidate in the presidential election of 2016 ", and notably argued that any criminal activity of Russia had taken place before contact with the figures of the Trump campaign.

WikiLeaks, who has been named as a defendant, previously stated that he had no role to play in the actual piracy and only published the contents of his First Amendment rights.

The Russian government, also accused, presented a new argument in a letter to the court in November 2018. While not recognizing the hacking, the Russian Federation said that if it hacked the DNC, it was at the time. sheltered from a civil lawsuit because of: US laws that protect governments from "sovereign" actions.

A judge has not ruled on the motions to dismiss. The source familiar with the DNC's strategy said that if the case were to survive, the DNC would begin the discovery process, gathering information and interviewing witnesses – a laborious process that could fit deep into the race for the presidency of 2020.