Trump has filed a lawsuit against Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee, and others, alleging a conspiracy to link his campaign to Russia.

On Thursday, former President Donald Trump filed a massive federal lawsuit against Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee, and 26 other individuals and companies, alleging that they plotted to sabotage his 2016 campaign by falsely linking him to Russia.

Former FBI Director James Comey and other FBI officials, retired British spy Christopher Steele and his friends, and a handful of Clinton campaign aides are among those named in the lawsuit, which Trump has accused of organizing a "deep state" plot against him for years.

"The Defendants nefariously endeavored to manipulate the public's trust under the pretext of 'opposition research,' 'data analytics,' and other political stratagems," according to the lawsuit, filed in federal court in Florida.  The lawsuit asks for more than $24 million in costs and damages.

The complaint, which spans 108 pages, rails against many of Trump's political foes and emphasizes issues that he has been voicing for years.

It alleges that Democrats and government officials committed a slew of crimes, ranging from a racketeering conspiracy to malicious prosecution, computer fraud, and the theft of classified internet data. Costs and damages totaling more than $24 million are sought in the case.

There are certain factual flaws in the suit, as well as some of the same grandiose or exaggerated false statements Trump has made dozens of times.

According to the legal claim, Clinton and other prominent Democrats engaged lawyers and researchers to invent evidence linking Trump to Russia, then marketed those lies to the media and the US government to sabotage his prospects of winning in 2016.

They were aided, Trump argues, by "Clinton supporters" in the FBI, who abused their powers to pursue him because of political animosity.

Part of the case, according to John Podesta, the head of Clinton's 2016 campaign and one of the lawsuit's defendants, could be a "hoax."

"Do you believe Trump initiated this action in the hopes of getting Vladimir Putin to testify as a character witness? The Trump deposition should be hilarious "Podesta penned the piece.
Many of the defendants have been contacted by CNN for comment. On Thursday, some attorneys for the lawsuit's named defendants were still absorbing it.

"We haven't had a chance to read the complaint," said Aitan Goelman, who represents former FBI officer Peter Strzok. "But knowing the previous President, there's probably very nothing in there that's factual."

The Clinton team paid researchers to dig up dirt on Trump and Russia, and well-connected Democrats sent some of their findings on to law enforcement, believing suspected Trump-Russia ties were worth investigating.

However, the Justice Department inspector general and a bipartisan report from the Senate Intelligence Committee have previously refuted many of Trump's far-reaching allegations in the complaint.

For the past three years, special counsel John Durham has been looking into a lot of the activities that Trump claims in his lawsuit. Durham hasn't gone quite as far as Trump suggests.