Trump Takes Aim at CNN With New $475-Million Defamation Lawsuit
(WatchDogReport.org) – The left bias of the mainstream media and social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter was a hot topic during the 2020 presidential campaign and its aftermath. The person most targeted in that battle was then-President Donald Trump, who has now filed a defamation lawsuit against CNN for both written and verbal purported lies. He’s seeking at least $75,000 in compensatory damages and another $475 million in punitive damages.
Donald Trump sues CNN, claiming defamation and seeking more than $475 million in damages. Filed in federal court in Florida
Suit: https://t.co/1yZuyYVfrq
— Scott MacFarlane (@MacFarlaneNews) October 3, 2022
The complaint uses a quotation from a dissenting opinion written by the late Judge Laurence Silberman to drive home an important point. The judge noted one of the first things “any potential authoritarian or dictatorial regime [does] is to gain control of communications, particularly the delivery of news.” This is the beating heart of Trump’s case against CNN because he alleges the network is trying to hide behind the First Amendment while actually using its platforms as a club against him for political reasons.
The court document claims that beginning in November 2016, CNN broadcasts used Trump’s name “within 10 words of ‘Hitler’ or ‘Nazi’… at least 645” times. It also shows the impact CNN has had on public opinion by including a string of Twitter posts responding to Fareed Zakaria’s promo of his special. In it, he uses visuals and audio in an attempt to link Trump and his MAGA supporters with Hitler and the Nazis in the minds of the American public.
Will Trump’s lawsuit be successful? Will it make media companies take responsibility for their actions? Time will tell, but it could take a very long time for this case to meander its way through the courts.
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