Could Statute of Limitations Issues Thwart Trump's Suit Against Hillary Clinton Over Russia Collusion Allegations?

A South Florida law firm filed a lawsuit in a federal court in Fort Pierce on Thursday against nearly 50 people and entities that allegedly conspired to undermine its client, former president Donald J. Trump, in his 2016 campaign by falsely tying him to Russia.

Peter Ticktin, a partner at Ticktin Law Group in Deerfield Beach, Florida, alleged the defendants “maliciously conspired to weave a false narrative that their Republican opponent, Donald J. Trump, was colluding with a hostile foreign sovereignty.”

However, there could be one immediate problem with the lawsuit: the U.S. Supreme Court has held that civil RICO claims are subject to a four-year statute of limitations. That means defendants will likely challenge certain counts on the grounds of timeliness.

But Ticktin, who represents Donald J. Trump, pointed to top-level officials in Hillary Clinton’s campaign, the Democratic Nomination Convention and the law firm, Perkins Coie, in carrying out the alleged scheme that required the former president to shell out millions of dollars to defend. Trump also accused defendants of obstructing justice and stealing trade secrets, along with unlawful hacking into his private communications.

“The actions taken in furtherance of their scheme—falsifying evidence, deceiving law enforcement, and exploiting access to highly-sensitive data sources—are so outrageous, subversive and incendiary that even the events of Watergate pale in comparison,” Trump said in the lawsuit.

Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer, is also named in the lawsuit for compiling the dossier that the FBI and media outlets allegedly circulated before the November 2016 election.

“They worked together with a single, self-serving purpose: to vilify Donald J. Trump,” the lawsuit claimed. “Indeed, their far-reaching conspiracy was designed to cripple Trump’s bid for presidency by fabricating a scandal that would be used to trigger an unfounded federal investigation and ignite a media frenzy.”

The lawsuit regurgitates public statements that the former president has proclaimed in the public, such as at political rallies and outside the White House nearby Marine One, over the past five years. The lawsuit included details John Durham unearthed in his ongoing investigation as special counsel into the 2016 campaign, as well as former special counsel Robert Mueller.

Now, Trump is seeking to recover more than $72 million in damages—an amount that is triple the $24 million in legal fees—in the 16-count lawsuit that will be heard before U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks, who sits in the Southern District of Florida.

Trump is suing under RICO, RICO conspiracy, injurious falsehood, conspiracy to commit injurious falsehood, malicious prosecution, computer fraud and abuse act, theft of trade secrets, conspiracy to commit injurious falsehood, agency, and multiple counts of respondeat superior.

Read the complaint:

Trump noted that “when their gambit failed,” and he was elected, the defendants continued their focus to undermine his presidential administration.

He added, “The deception, malice, and treachery perpetrated by the defendants has caused significant harm to the American people, and to the plaintiff, Donald J. Trump, and they must be held accountable for their heinous acts.”

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