The Democratic National Committee (DNC) filed a lawsuit in April 2018 against Russia and WikiLeaks as "co-conspirators". WikiLeaks has pushed back against this blatant attempt to punish the publishers of the DNS leaked emails. WikiLeaks lawyer Joshua L. Dratel has filed a "pre-trial motion to dismiss the first amended complaint" against the DNC's suit.
The dismissal mentions the fact that "WikiLeaks’s conduct — publishing truthful information of public concern as a media organization — is protected by the First Amendment", and that "imposing liability on WikiLeaks for the conduct alleged against it in the FAC would violate the First Amendment."
It also mentions how WikiLeaks, being a "user of provider of an interactive computer service" under 47 U.S.C. 230 means it's immune from civil liability. Any claims of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”) are false because WikiLeaks doesn't meet the criteria of RICO violations:
(1) a RICO enterprise, and/or WikiLeaks' operation or management of affairs
(2) a pattern of racketeering activity, including the requisite predicate acts
(3) cognizable injury to plaintiff's business or property
(4) a RICO conspiracy
The dismissal also lists several Appendices (A to D) which note many instances of hacked emails being published in the press, and no legal pursuits were made against publishers in those cases. This includes the leaked DNC emails where WikiLeaks, as the original publisher, is the only one being targeted in some concocted conspiracy by the Democrats.
Appendix A
Hacked emails related to political campaigns and officials in other countries:
• Macron Emails (France) (https://wikileaks.org/macron-emails/)
• AKP Emails (Turkey) <https://wikileaks.org/akp-emails/)Other Prominent Leaks and Hacks
• The Panama Papers (https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Panama_Papers) and the Paradise Papers (https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_Papers) are likely-hacked emails published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
• The Afghan War Diary (https://wikileaks.org/afg),
Iraq War Logs (https://wikileaks.org/irq)
• Cablegate (https://wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_diplomatic_cables_leak)
• The Snowden documents (https://search.edwardsnowden.com)
• The Sony Hack (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2014/12/18/the-sony-pictures-hack-expla
ined/?utm_term=.478173535de5)
• Hacking Team (https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacking_Team)
• The Pentagon Papers (https://wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_Papers).
Appendix B
• New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/26/us/politics/dnc-wikileaks-emailsfundraising.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/23/us/politics/dnc-emails-sanders-clinton.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/03/us/politics/dnc-email-hack-hillary-clintonberniesanders.html
• Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/07/22/oneve-ofdemocratic-convention-wikileaks-releases-thousands-of-documents-about-clintonthecampaign-and-internal-deliberations
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/07/22/wikileaksdemocratic-partyofficials-appear-to-discuss-using-sanderss-faith-against-him
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/erik-wemple/wp/2016/07/24/wikileaks-emailspro-clintoncnn-political-commentator-pre-checked-op-ed-with-dnc
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/07/25/dnc-staffersdisparaged-topparty-fundraiser-and-wasserman-schultz-ally/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2016/08/11/what-to-expectwhen-awikileaks-dump-turns-you-into-an-internet-folk-hero/
• ABC:
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/damaging-emails-dnc-wikileaksdump/story?id=40852448
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/top-dnc-officials-wikileaks-emailrelease/story?id=41078429
• BBC:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37639370
• CNN:
https://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/24/politics/dnc-email-leak-wikileaks/index.html
• Wall Street Journal:
https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2016/07/25/twelve-dnc-emailsreleased-by-wikileaksthat-stand-out/
https://www.wsj.com/articles/emails-that-helped-cost-dnc-chief-debbie-wassermanschultz-her-jobshow-democratic-discord-1469399748
• NBC:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/top-dnc-official-apologizesinsensitiveemail-after-leak-n615606
• The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jul/23/dnc-emails-wikileakshillary-berniesanders
• Fox News:
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/wikileaks-dump-appears-to-show-dncfavored-clintoncampaign
• The Intercept:
https://theintercept.com/2016/07/22/new-leak-top-dnc-official-wanted-to-usebernie-sanderss-religious-beliefs-against-him/
• NPR:
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/07/23/487179496/leaked-democraticparty-emailsshow-members-tried-to-undercut-sanders
• PBS:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/wikileaks-releases-29-hacked-dnc-voicemails
• CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/23/wikileaks-hits-dnc-ahead-of-convention-competeswith-kainevp-nomination.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/24/top-dnc-official-apologizes-for-insensitive-emailafter-leak.html
• Politico:
https://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/wikileaks-pushes-leaked-dnc-voicemails-226344
https://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/dnc-leak-clinton-team-deflected-state-cashconcerns-226191
https://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/top-dnc-staffer-apologizes-for-email-on-sandersreligion-226072
• USA Today:
https://usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/07/23/dnc-wikileaks-emailssanderswasserman-schultz-weaver/87475070/
• Vox:
https://www.vox.com/2016/7/23/12261020/dnc-email-leaks-explained
• Business Insider:
https://www.businessinsider.com/leaked-dnc-emails-wikileaks-2016-7
https://www.businessinsider.com/hacked-emails-dnc-weak-passwords-2016-7
• Buzzfeed:
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/rubycramer/dnc-and-clinton-campaignoperations-startedmerging-before-s
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/davidmack/dnc-cybersecurity
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/adolfoflores/leaked-emails-show-dnc-staffersplottingagainst-sanders-cam
• Huffington Post:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/wikileaks-emails-show-dnc-favored-hillaryclintonover_us_57930be0e4b0e002a3134b05
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/wikileaks-dnc-berniesanders_us_579381fbe4b02d5d5ed1d157
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/politico-dnc-kenvogel_us_57951b65e4b02d5d5ed1f8e2
• The Hill:
https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/288900-leaked-dnc-emails-revealsecretplans-to-take-on-sanders
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/288899-dnc-members-may-have-looked-tochallengesanders-on-atheism
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/289150-politico-reporter-sent-story-todemcommittee-for-pre-publication
• Gawker:
https://gawker.com/leaked-dnc-email-refers-to-potential-latino-voters-as-b-1784216318
https://gawker.com/dnc-communications-director-ordered-anti-sanders-articl-1784191906
• Washington Times:
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jul/23/dnc-officials-worked-againstsanders-duringprimar/
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/aug/10/couple-dnc-emails-host-obamafundraiserclinton/
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jul/27/email-leak-outs-the-dnc/
• Yahoo News:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/bernie-dnc-email-debbie-wasserman-000000534.html
• Salon:
https://www.salon.com/2016/07/22/leaked_dnc_email_sanders_attempt_to_moderate_israel_stance_disturbing_clinton_campaign_used_it_to_marginalize_bernie/
https://www.salon.com/2016/07/22/dnc_emails_wasserman_schultz_furiously_pressured_msnbc_after_it_criticized_her_unfair_treatment_of_sanders/
Appendix C
Other Media Organizations Publishing Documents from Guccifer 2.0 or DCLeaks Coverage of Guccifer 2.0’s Leaks:
• The Hill:
https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/287558-guccifer-20-drops-new-dnc-docs
https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/292391-exclusive-guccifer-20-hacked-memosexpand-onpennsylvania-house-races
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/291523-leaked-dccc-docs-detail-fl-demcandidatesweaknesses
• The Intercept:
https://theintercept.com/2016/10/09/exclusive-new-email-leak-reveals-clintoncampaigns-cozypress-relationship/
https://theintercept.com/2016/09/13/colin-powell-emails/
• The Daily Caller:
https://dailycaller.com/2016/10/09/leaked-documents-reveal-which-journalists-are-cozywith-theclinton-campaign/
https://dailycaller.com/2016/10/07/revealed-obama-labeled-potential-politicalappointments-byrace-gender/
https://dailycaller.com/2016/09/11/exclusive-internal-party-documents-reveal-demcongressionalnominee-has-a-shoddy-business-record/
• The Smoking Gun:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/dnc-hacker-leaks-trump-oppo-report-647293
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/democratic-national-committee/guccifer-dccchack-645891
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/crime/dnc-researched-clinton-speechestravel-records-621985
• Buzzfeed:
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/darrensands/after-leaked-memo-dccc-says-theysharecommon-goals-with-bla
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/andrewkaczynski/colin-powell-calls-trumpnationaldisgrace-in-personal-email
• Politico:
https://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/donald-trump-opposition-224397
https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2016/08/dccc-hack-unearths-dirt-on-partysowncandidates-104744
https://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/guccifer-hack-leaks-house-strategy-228208
• Vice News:
https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/8x3yek/democrats-used-a-cheat-sheet-to-deal-withblack-livesmatter-leak-reveals
• Fox News:
https://www.foxnews.com/tech/hacker-guccifer-2-0-claims-new-dnc-data-leak
• Washington Examiner:
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/leaked-papers-appear-to-reveal-dem-pay-for-playscheme
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/hacked-clinton-campaign-worked-with-nytreporter-behindscenes
• Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/09/14/here-are-the-juiciestcolinpowell-comments-about-trump-and-clinton-from-his-leaked-emails
• Gawker:
https://gawker.com/contrary-to-dnc-claim-hacked-data-contains-a-ton-of-pe-1782132678
http://gawker.com/this-looks-like-the-dncs-hacked-trump-oppo-file-1782040426Coverage of DCLeaks:
• The Intercept:
https://theintercept.com/2016/07/01/nato-general-emails/
• Buzzfeed:
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/andrewkaczynski/colin-powell-called-benghazi-astupidwitch-hunt-and-condi-r
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/christophermassie/rice-if-rumsfeld-pentagon-haddonetheir-job-iraq-might-have
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/andrewkaczynski/colin-powell-blasted-trumpschiefmilitary-advisor
• The Washington Post:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/09/14/here-are-the-juiciestcolin-powellcomments-about-trump-and-clinton-from-his-leaked-emails
• The New York Times:
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/23/us/politics/hackers-joe-biden-michelle-obamahillaryclinton.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/15/us/politics/colin-powell-emails-hack-donaldtrump.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/06/technology/how-linkedin-drove-a-wedge-betweenmicrosoftand-salesforce.html
• The Daily Caller:
https://dailycaller.com/2016/08/24/soros-organization-secretly-paid-salaries-for-staffersofmoldovan-prime-minister/
https://dailycaller.com/2016/08/25/leaked-soros-strategy-globalization-will-increasemigrationpressures/
https://dailycaller.com/2016/10/07/hacked-emails-hillarys-scummy-press-sec-bragsaboutpressuring-reporter-to-spike-story/
https://dailycaller.com/2016/10/06/revealed-hillary-clintons-new-email-address/
• The Hill:
https://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/291317-gop-emails-leaked-on-site-connected-torussianhackers
https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/291486-thousands-of-soros-docs-released-byallegedrussia-backed-hackers
https://thehill.com/homenews/media/299523-leaked-memo-shows-clinton-was-providedallquestions-ahead-interview
• Politico:
https://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/colin-powell-emails-clinton-trump-rumsfeld-228158
https://www.politico.com/tipsheets/morning-agriculture/2016/10/clinton-camps-cozyrelationshipwith-coca-cola-216866
https://www.politico.com/story/2016/09/colin-powell-clinton-emails-228135
• The Daily Beast:
https://www.thedailybeast.com/colin-powell-bill-clinton-is-still-dicking-bimbos
• Vice News:
https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/kz99gv/colin-powell-insults-clinton-and-calls-trumpnationaldisgrace-in-leaked-emails
• Ars Technica:
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/09/hacked-e-mail-account-of-whitehouseworker-exposed-in-2013-password-breach/
• Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2016-08-16/how-george-soros-threatens-tomakeisrael-a-pariah
• Wall Street Journal:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/salesforces-m-a-target-list-excluded-twitter-1476834470
https://www.wsj.com/articles/ipo-hopeful-bloom-energy-enlisted-colin-powell-for-taxcreditextension-1476906978
• Forbes:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/nancyhuehnergarth/2016/10/17/hacked-emails-show-cocacola-aimsto-influence-hillary-clinton-and-the-media/
• CNN:
https://edition.cnn.com/2016/09/14/politics/colin-powell-dcleaks/index.html
https://edition.cnn.com/2016/09/14/politics/colin-powell-benghazi-stupid-witchhunt/index.html
• Fox News:
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/powell-says-israel-has-200-nukes-pointed-at-iran-inleaked-2015-email
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/money-talks-from-ferguson-to-unrest-overseas-newreportsreveal-soros-influence
• NBC News:
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/white-house-contractors-leaked-emailrevealssecret-service-plans-michelle-n652621
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/colin-powell-calls-trump-nationaldisgracehacked-emails-n648011
• Washington Examiner:
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/hacked-documents-reveal-soros-plans-for-moreinternetregulation
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/18-things-we-learned-from-colin-powells-leakedemails
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/hacked-clinton-feared-losing-women-todangerous-trump
Appendix D
Cached and Archived Copies of the Documents
Full or nearly full copies of the DNC emails are available in search engine caches. For example, on Google it is possible to search for a list of DNC emails with the following query:
• https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Awikileaks.org%2Fdnc-emails
• http://ddosecretspzwfy7.onion (requires Tor browser toaccess)
• https://www.scribd.com/document/322685668/Pelosi-s-blm-memo-leaked-by-Guccifer-2-0
• https://www.scribd.com/document/321265855/tab-03-extreme-polarization-and-breakdown-incivic-discourse-pdf (DCLeaks)
• https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3115974-Proeictul-Leanca-Soros-2014-2015-DCLeaks.html (DCLeaks)And each of these emails is stored in cached form on Google’s servers:
• https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:bX-OK_56oLkJ:https://wikileaks.org/dncemails/emailid/3793+&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&client=firefox-b-abThe same is true with Bing, where the DNC emails can be searched for as follows:
• http://www.bing.com/search?q=site%3Awikileaks.org%2Fdnc-emailsAnd copies of individual emails are available on Bings servers, such as:
• http://cc.bingj.com/cache.aspx?q=site%3awikileaks.org%2fdncemails&d=4779166521560271&mkt=sv-SE&setlang=en-US&w=OMM2j4_cxK59UGa5jz4msR6eMUeC8jO4
The same is true for nearly all major search engines, though these caches would eventually disappear if for some reason WikiLeaks took the content down. But emails are also available via the Internet Archive, which aims at long term preservation of even deleted web pages:
• https://web.archive.org/web/20180402164624/https://wikileaks.org/dncemails/?q=&mfrom=&mto=&title=¬itle=&date_from=&date_to=&nofrom=¬o=&count=50&sort=0#searchresultCopies on Social Media Platforms
Excerpts from and copies of specific emails have almost certainly been posted on Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, and most other major social media platforms. Guccifer 2.0 originally posted many of the documents they obtained on a Wordpress blog at
• https://guccifer2.wordpress.com/, which remains online.
That's a lot of evidence of publishers putting out leaks which include the DNC's. Yet the only publisher that matters to the DNC is WikiLeaks.
Dratel defends the journalism and publishing WIkiLeaks has done, and explains how groundless and dangerous it is to allow a lawsuit against WikiLeaks:
"Those who have spent their careers defending journalism’s role in free speech recognize that liability for a media organization in WikiLeaks’s position – publishing documents provided by whistle-blowers and others who possess them without authorization – would set an ominous precedent that could not be contained. Moreover, imposing liability upon WikiLeaks here would exert a chilling effect on journalism and free speech, and deprive the public of an extraordinary amount of newsworthy information."
The DNC deputy communications director, Adrienne Watson, had an expectedly pathetic response to mount:
"Wikileaks engaged in an unlawful conspiracy with a hostile foreign power, and illegal activity isn’t protected by the First Amendment. Beyond being wrong on the law, WikiLeaks’ attempt to make this into a defense of press freedoms is offensive. The organization has allied itself with an autocratic regime that kills journalists, and together they helped elect a U.S. president whose hostility towards the free press has no precedent in American history."
These Democrats are just slinging mud in the hopes it stick, even for a second, and drag WikiLeaks into a costly legal battle. An "unlawful conspiracy"? WikiLeaks published DNC and Clinton emails, and they don't like their shit being aired int he public, which is a public service done by WikiLeaks. They have to try to discredit and bankrupt WikiLeaks through false accusations, when WikiLeaks just put the truth out for all to see.
There is no conspiracy. There is no evidence it was Russian agents or Russian-hired hackers. Even if the emails came from Russia, anyone could have given WikiLeaks the emails. Does that make it a conspiracy, only when Russia anonymously provides it? Watson's remarks just show how it's all really about being butthurt from having their dirty laundry and crooked ways exposed, and how they lost the election.
They want to reverse the clock, but can't. All they can do is try to sling mud at WIkiLeaks and Trump in a made up conspiracy theory about them both working with Russia to commit a "brazen attack on American Democracy." They just can't move on from losing face from the leaks that showed the democratic corruption. Russia has denied the hacks, and Assange denied the source was the Russian government. Once a false accusation spread in the realm of belief, it doesn't need to be true for it to affect the minds of many Americans.
WikiLeaks has launched a separate GoFundMe to raise money for this lawsuit. They mention the real problem is not WikiLeaks, but the DNS and CLinton campaign:
The emails published by WikiLeaks reveal that the Clinton campaign worked with the DNC to rig the primary election and to engage in elaborate money laundering schemes.
Astonishingly, the DNC claims that the emails of its political operatives are "trade secrets" – as if the DNC's rigging efforts were the equivalent to the secret formula for Coca-Cola. With this suit, the DNC has become a press freedom predator, attempting to abuse trade secret law to suppress public understanding.
The Democratic National Committee has billionaire backers to be able to fight the lawsuit in court for years. WikiLeaks, in contrast, is an award winning small publisher entirely funded by its readers.
It will be a hell of a battle, "a David and Goliath struggle" as the GoFundMe page says. But WikiLeaks stand on the foundation of truth. In the 12 years of operation, they haven't had to retract a publication nor have they lost a court case.
Thank you for your time and attention. Peace.
If you appreciate and value the content, please consider: Upvoting, Sharing or Reblogging below.
me for more content to come!
My goal is to share knowledge, truth and moral understanding in order to help change the world for the better. If you appreciate and value what I do, please consider supporting me as a Steem Witness by voting for me at the bottom of the Witness page.
