Protect Democracy statement on Cockrum jurisdictional decision

While we are disappointed in and respectfully disagree with today’s decision from the District Court to dismiss this case on the grounds that it does not belong in Washington, D.C., this case is far from over. This decision is not a reflection of the central conspiracy claim in the case. Indeed, the Court stated that “it bears emphasizing that this Court’s ruling is not based on a finding that there was no collusion between defendants and Russia during the 2016 presidential election.” It is clear that the the Court recognizes that there is sufficient evidence to suggest a conspiracy between the Trump Campaign and the Kremlin, but believes this case belongs in a different court. What today’s decision indicates is that the merits of this case will proceed somewhere.

As most of America has now realized, the evidence that the Trump Campaign conspired with Russia grows by the day, and the Court’s decision does nothing to call that into question. The Trump Campaign’s efforts not only did grave damage to our democracy, but also harmed individual Americans who were just exercising their right to participate in our political process. Protect Democracy brought this case on behalf of three of those individuals in order to seek redress for their harms, and to hold accountable those involved in this attack on our system of government. We will consider our options and will continue to fight to ensure that our clients get the justice they deserve and that the Trump Campaign and its associates will be held accountable for their actions.