Judge rejects Democrats case against Trump 2016 campaign

A New York judge has tossed out a lawsuit by Democrats alleging that President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign conspired with Russia. U.S. District Judge John Koeltl (KOH-tohl) said Tuesday that the Russian Federation was "undoubtably" the primary wrongdoer in the alleged criminal enterprise and the federation can't be sued in U.S. courts except in special circumstances not present in this case.

He said the actions of the Trump campaign and others are protected by the First Amendment. Koeltl's written ruling came 11 days after he heard oral arguments.

The lawsuit brought by the Democratic National Committee alleged that Trump's campaign conspired with Russia, WikiLeaks, Trump's son-in-law and others. Trump's campaign and lawyers for the other defendants denied the allegations.