![]() ![]() Trump is one of the world’s most famous people and he has no problem getting his views shared. For one thing, the law sets a higher standard for public figures to win defamation claims, in large part because the famous can easily rebut the claims through ready access to media. 3 in a federal court in Florida, it asserts that the network and its commentators defamed Trump by calling him names, comparing him to Adolf Hitler, all “for the purpose of defeating him politically.”Įxperts in First Amendment law say Trump’s chances of prevailing are next to nil. The 29-page complaint against CNN is the latest example. ![]() These suits typically get tossed out of court, but not before the defendant has racked up legal fees and gone through the hassle of responding to the claims. Yet before, during and after his presidency, Trump has employed threats of lawsuits, and occasionally actual lawsuits, in an effort to intimidate news organizations and authors. Throughout history, American presidents have been subject to vehement, and often vicious, personal attacks. The suit is less notable for its merits, which are flimsy at best, than it is as a guide to the robust First Amendment protections for political speech. The case fits a pattern, one in which the legal principles are well established, but Trump doesn’t think they apply to him. This decade-old episode came to mind when I heard that Trump had filed suit last week against CNN, claiming defamation and seeking $475 million in punitive damages. Instead, he fired off a tweet calling Neuharth a “lightweight” and saying that he was canceling his subscription to USA Today. Cohen threatened to sue for defamation if I recall correctly, he threw around the figure $100 million.Īs it turned out, Trump didn’t file a lawsuit. ![]() The opinion piece called Trump “a clown who loves doing or saying things, no matter how ridiculous they may be” and, to boot, a less-than-dedicated fan of the New York Yankees. Over the phone, Cohen told me that Trump was upset about a column written by USA Today founder Al Neuharth. The last time I spoke to Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s erstwhile attack-dog attorney, was 10 years ago, when I was deputy editorial page editor of USA Today. ![]()
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