Hillary Clinton is trying to save herself from Donald Trump’s lawsuit, yes just herself.
The failed presidential hopeful filed a motion to shut down Trump’s giant federal lawsuit against her and several other Democrats involved in the conspiracy to propagate false claims about Trump and Russia in connection with the 2016 presidential race. The 108-page complaint claims Trump’s lawsuit is entirely without legal merit and amounts to little more than a publicity stunt.
Politico reports:
“Whatever the utility of Plaintiff’s Complaint as a fundraising tool, a press release, or a list of political grievances, it has no merit as a lawsuit, and should be dismissed with prejudice,” longtime Clinton attorney David Kendall wrote.
While some other defendants have sought to stall the suit as they assess how to respond, Clinton’s lawyers wasted little time in asking U.S. District Court Judge Donald Middlebrooks to dismiss the claims against her “with prejudice” — meaning Trump would not be able to reformulate the suit and re-file.
As a technical matter, Clinton’s motion applies only to her, so it can’t shut down the entire case. However, other defendants — who include various Clinton campaign aides, former Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, former FBI Director James Comey and ex-FBI agent Peter Strzok — could join in Clinton’s legal move to torpedo the suit.
Clinton’s lawyers say the statute of limitations for the claims in Trump’s case ranges from two to four years, but the various assertions about Trump’s ties to Russia were out in the open in 2017.
Clinton’s attorneys also say Trump is trying to turn run-of-the-mill political opposition into a court case.
“At most, Plaintiff alleges that other entities sought to further Clinton’s candidacy and, after the election, politically opposed Plaintiff’s administration,” Clinton’s motion argues. “This is conduct plainly protected by the First Amendment, and there is nothing unlawful about engagement in political activity.”
