Donald Trump filed a defamation lawsuit against CNN on Monday, accusing the network of unfairly attacking him in the past.
Donald Trump is in Michigan.
CNN was accused of carrying out a "smear campaign" that has only intensified in recent months as CNN fears that Trump will run for president in the future.
The filing complains about a range of negative characterizations of Trump on CNN, including a 2020 article that said the ex-president had "repeated racist talking points" and a January special report that discussed threats to American democracy.
Some of the quotes Trump's suit took issue with were said by guests or politicians, rather than CNN staff.
CNN referred to Trump's false claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election as "the big lie", a phrase originally attributed to Hitler.
CNN wouldn't comment on the suit.
It is difficult to win a defamation lawsuit against a public figure in the United States if the person made false statements or acted recklessly with the truth. Courts have considered statements of opinion to be opinions, not factual assertions, in the past. Trump's lawsuit said CNN's behavior rose to the level of actual malice, but it also insisted the standard shouldn't apply, citing a controversial 2021, Dissent by a conservative federal appellate judge that argued the Supreme Court should overturn the 1964 case that created the actual malice standard.
This isn't the first time that Trump has sued CNN. A judge dismissed a lawsuit by the Trump campaign against CNN after they failed to show that the network acted with malice. The Times suit was dismissed but the Post suit is still pending. Before winning the 2016 presidential race, Trump pledged to "open up our libel laws" so he could file lawsuits against the media.
Since leaving office, Trump has filed a number of legal challenges against entities he sees as enemies. He sued the CEOs of social media companies for banning him from their platforms after the Capitol riots. He filed a lawsuit accusing Hillary Clinton and a range of Democratic Party and FBI officials of scheming to harm his campaign by tying him to Russia. A federal judge ruled last month that the Clinton suit was not supported by any legal authority.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
