Centrist group No Labels sues Democratic operatives over efforts to derail it

As the bipartisan group No Labels attempted to field a third-party independent bid in the 2024 presidential race, several of its opponents aggressively attempted to sabotage its operations in hopes of preventing the group from moving forward, according to a lawsuit the group has filed.

A lawsuit filed initially against NoLabels.com Inc. in the U.S. District Court of Delaware in December of 2023 alleges that some in the Democratic Party undertook deliberate efforts to undermine the group, ultimately forcing it to halt operations. No Labels is now seeking to recover monetary damages as a result.

NoLabels.com Inc., which was created to mimic the real No Labels website – NoLabels.org, is believed to be incorporated in Delaware, according to the suit.

Documents unsealed in the case allegedly show how a handful of Democratic strategists operating under the fake NoLabels.com banner attempted to use fear tactics to raise uncertainty among No Labels supporters and donors, drive skepticism in the media, and question the authenticity and scope of the centrist group. At one point, operatives even viciously targeted No Labels founder Nancy Jacobson, as well as candidates interested in serving on its “Unity Ticket.”

One document included a business deck orchestrated by a group of political operatives called the American Patriots Project (APP) to imitate No Labels' website with the purchase of the NoLabels.com domain as well as Google search ads. According to the deck, the operatives attempted to mislead voters and paint the centrist group as Christo-nationalists and featured images of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaking on behalf of the group. The saboteurs' goal was to imply that No Labels was a right-wing shadow effort. Furthermore, the proposal attempted to falsely fixate on “red meat issues” such as immigration and anti-abortion messaging.

U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware Judge Gregory B. Williams issued a court order for the operatives to take down the NoLabels.com website; however, No Labels believes that there were more attempts to disavow their operations.

No Labels subpoenaed APP on Nov. 5 seeking to uncover more information.

Democratic strategists with ties to American Bridge -- which calls itself the largest research, video tracking, and rapid response organization affiliated with the Democratic Party -- also attempted to single out donors, according to a three-step proposal in one email listed in court documents. As donors engaged in conversation, strategists would suggest that their money was being mismanaged with inefficient or wasteful spending. These strategists also attempted to misinform the media about No Labels' goals.

ABC News has reached out for comment to American Bridge but has not gotten a reply.

Earlier this week, No Labels leaders updated supporters on a Zoom call.

“We believe in democracy in this organization, and obviously some people didn't want us to live democracy out the way we were living it,” Mike Rawlings, the group's national convention chairman, told the call before tossing to Dan Webb, a No Labels board member, who updated supporters on the legal findings.

Webb notified supporters that they called on the Department of Justice to look into any potential illegal conduct.

“I think one of the defining stories will be that it's just wrong for a group of elite donors, party operatives, media mouthpieces to actually decide that the way, the way we should protect democracy is to make sure we have less of it,” Webb said.

Most of the No Labels "family members" on the call were infuriated with the allegations and pleaded for national exposure, suggesting outlets like “60 Minutes” or Joe Rogan’s podcast to spread awareness. Overall, the call was an opportunity for supporters to air their grievances.

“I agree wholeheartedly with publicizing this as much as possible, and not making it seem like it's just normal politics,” one supporter said.

“This is not acceptable; they've interfered with the democratic process here,” another supporter added.

Asked if the efforts were “just politics” or “dirty politics,” No Labels leaders suggested it went beyond that.

“I'm a strong believer in the First Amendment, and political speech is absolutely protected by the First Amendment, but the law is also clear that you cannot violate the law and claim that even though you violated the law, you were just engaging in politics,” Webb said.

He continued, “I believe we did the right thing by reporting the information to the Department of Justice, and whatever the Department of Justice decides to do, they decide to do.”

One supporter suggested that the scandal sounded like Watergate and questioned whether it was worth pursuing lawsuits. Another supporter told No Labels leaders to focus on the Problem Solvers Caucus in Congress and dismiss the past.

“We should focus on the fact that no candidate received a majority in this election,” one supporter suggested. “Our need is to focus on fixing Congress. So I think we need to balance this very carefully and not focus on a way that distracts from one main issue, and casts us as being associated with the Trump administration.”

Back in April, the group halted its efforts when it was unable to find a candidate that had a credible path to winning with its bipartisan platform.

No Labels intended to offer a different choice than the presumptive presidential nominees at that time -- incumbent President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump -- to citizens who yearned for something new instead of a repeat of the 2020 election. As they entered the race in March, they suggested their internal polling showed more than 70% of Americans said they'd be open to another option.

The group intends to meet with supporters in Washington, D.C., in December to create a plan to deal with the new Congress and work with congressional leaders.

-ABC News' Nicholas Kerr contributed to this report.