Protect Democracy Statement on Motion to Dismiss Hearing in Cockrum v Trump

Protect Democracy’s Executive Director, Ian Bassin, released the following statement following today’s hearing on the Motion to Dismiss the case of Cockrum v. Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. and Roger Stone:

“There is no doubt that Russia interfered in our election. That was the unanimous conclusion of America’s intelligence community, recently confirmed by the bipartisan conclusions of the Senate Intelligence Committee. The evidence that they conspired with the Trump Campaign in that assault on our democracy grows with every passing day. And while all Americans and our democracy were the targets of this attack, there also were individual Americans who suffered specific, unique harms and they are seeking justice in the courts.

Our clients are American citizens who were punished for participating in the political process. They had their private information like social security numbers dumped to the world and their lives turned upside down. They want the truth and accountability for what happened to them, redress for what they went through, and most importantly, to make sure that this never happens again.

After today’s hearing we are confident that they will be allowed to proceed with their case. Because conspirators rarely sign an agreement on the dotted line, and the ultimate evidence of a conspiracy is exclusively in the hands of the conspirators, the law does not require our clients to prove their case at this stage, only to show that their allegations are plausible to be allowed to proceed. They’ve cleared that bar in spades and look forward to proving their case. An American campaign conspiring with a foreign government to harm their fellow citizens threatens the strength and endurance of our democracy and we are confident justice will prevail.”