Trump Files Lawsuit Against CNN, Demands the Network Pay $475 Million in Damages

By
David Rufful
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OPINION | This article contains commentary that reflects the author's opinion.

President Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Florida against CNN and is seeking $475 million in damages.

Trump accuses CNN of engaging in a “campaign of dissuasion in the form of libel and slander.”

Trump says the network has defamed him by calling him “racist,” “insurrectionist,” and “Hilter.” The network wrongfully and illegally pushes these views while purporting to be a trusted news source for Americans, the suit claims.

The lawsuit reads: “CNN has sought to use its massive influence— purportedly as a ‘trusted’ news source—to defame the Plaintiff in the minds of its viewers and readers for the purpose of defeating him politically, culminating in CNN claiming credit for ‘[getting] Trump out’ in the 2020 presidential election.”

“CNN’s campaign of dissuasion in the form of libel and slander against the Plaintiff has only escalated in recent months as CNN fears the Plaintiff will run for president in 2024,” the suit continues.

“As a part of its concerted effort to tilt the political balance to the Left, CNN has tried to taint the Plaintiff with a series of ever-more scandalous, false, and defamatory labels of ‘racist,’ ‘Russian lackey,’ ‘insurrectionist,’ and ultimately ‘Hitler.’”

Law professor Jessica Levinson of Loyola Law School in Los Angeles claims there is “no legal path forward” for Trump. She said, “I see no false statements of fact made with actual malice.”

Levison added, “It’s a warning shot to media outlets that he intends to make good on threats of suing for defamation. And for some outlets, that could ultimately put them out of business.”

Trump responded, “In the coming weeks and months, we will also be filing lawsuits against a large number of other Fake News Media Companies for their lies, defamation, and wrongdoing, including as it pertains to the ‘Big Lie,’ that they used so often in reference to their disinformation attack on Presidential Election of 2020.”