President-elect Donald Trump's promise to use the sweeping powers of the Justice Department and FBI to bring retaliatory prosecutions against his perceived political opponents is a frightening prospect amid much controversy. is. I didn't do anything wrong.
However, civil claims can also be serious. And President Trump is busy suing the news media, warning of the First Amendment, which could be another casualty of the incoming administration.
Last week, President Trump sued the Des Moines Registry of Deeds The paper and its parent company, former pollster Ann Selzer, had suggested that Vice President Kamala Harris would win Iowa by 3 points in polls released days before the election (which she actually did not). He accused the poll of “brazen election interference” that showed Trump winning by 13 points.
The lawsuit alleges that Selzer intentionally swayed the polls in Harris' favor and seeks monetary damages and an order forcing the news organization to:Disclose all information they relied on” answered the questionnaire. A spokesperson said the paper had already published “the poll's complete demographics, crosstabs, weighted and unweighted data, as well as technical explanations from pollster Ann Selzer.”
Trump's lawyers argue The polls forced Republicans to “direct campaign time and funds to areas where they have an advantage” and “lead the public to believe that Democratic candidates are doing better than they actually are.” “Ta”. they quote Chapter 714H The Iowa Consumer Fraud Act deals with “unfair practices, deception, fraud, false pretenses, or false promises intended to be relied upon by another.” [it]” The law was passed in 2009 to allow private parties to sue for alleged consumer fraud, and is aimed at promoting the sale of herbal medicines said to boost the brain and stem cell therapy to combat aging. It has been used to challenge such things.
President Trump made similar deceptive trade claims to CBS News. 10 billion dollars (Yes, really) in an interview “60 Minutes” did with Harris.
Seth Stern, advocacy director at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said: warned The Iowa lawsuit could create an environment in which “journalists are forced to sit back and watch, knowing that the next administration is intent on finding excuses and pretexts to come after them.” He said there is.
This follows the next president. reach a settlement Paid $15 million in defamation suit against ABC News. The network (of which I am also a legal contributor) also cited anchor George Stephanopoulos' claims that President Trump was found “responsible for the rape” of E. Jean Carroll for $5 million. He agreed to apologize for certain defamation allegations. civil trial concluded last may. A jury found that Trump sexually assaulted Carroll in a department store fitting room in 1996.
In dismissing Trump's defamation countersuit for suggesting that Carol raped her. The judge concluded that “The jury's verdict establishes against Mr. Trump that he 'raped her,' albeit digitally, not with a penis.” But the judge said otherwise. refused Rejects Trump's similar defamation claim against ABC News.
Bottom line: Litigation can be unpredictable, time-consuming, and expensive, even when there is no benefit to the defendant. Mr. Trump understands this. The result is cooling effect The media and the polling industry might think twice before announcing something unpleasant to President Trump, even if it's true.
President Trump lost a lawsuit against reporter Tim O'Brien over his reporting on his finances. said“I spent a few dollars on legal fees, but they spent a lot more than that. I did it to make his life miserable, but I'm not happy about it. Masu.”
In 2023, he filed a lawsuit Publisher Simon & Schuster is suing publisher Simon & Schuster for copyright infringement in federal court in Florida, accusing it of “systematic usurpation, manipulation, and exploitation” of audio recordings of Trump interviews by author Bob Woodward. '' claimed to have been involved. In a recent court filing, President Trump encouraged publishers to “follow Mr. Stephanopoulos' expression of contrition.”
law professor Samantha Barbas said: “It's clear that Trump is waging war against the press. He and his lawyers intend to pursue every legal claim they think they have a chance of winning.”Personal Rights and Expression Robert Cohn Revere, the foundation's chief counsel, similarly called the Iowa lawsuit “absurd” and “a direct attack on the First Amendment.” Just because newspapers and public opinion polling companies publish publications does not mean they engage in “deceptive practices.” Articles and polls have shown President-elect Donald Trump that getting polls wrong is not election interference or fraud. ”
The First Amendment explicitly guarantees “freedom of the press.” Furthermore, in the landmark 1964 case New York Times v. Sullivan, the Supreme Court held that “actual malice” is the standard for defamation lawsuits brought against the media by government officials or public figures. In other words, such people must prove that a statement was made “with the knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard as to whether it was false.” is.
said Joel Simon, director of the State University of New York Journalism Protection Initiative. said The Iowa lawsuit “is unlikely to succeed legally, as reporting done in good faith is protected in the United States under the 'actual malice' standard.” For underserved news organizations, providing legal defense can be a significant problem.'' Challenge. “
To make it easier for courts to dismiss bogus defamation lawsuits, many states have Passed anti-SLAPP (or “Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation”) Act. Earlier this month, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), and Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) introduced The bipartisan Free Speech Protection Act is a “new federal anti-SLAPP law designed to protect journalists and the public by providing a means to dismiss frivolous lawsuits, including suits alleging defamation, in federal court. law”.
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