While CNN is yet to respond to the filing or issue a public statement about it, Trump’s camp is asking for the sum of $475 million in punitive damages.
Former President of the United States Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against the media conglomerate, CNN for defamation of his personality. According to the court filings, the Cable News Network has attempted times without number to taint President Trump “with a series of ever-more scandalous, false, and defamatory labels of ‘racist,’ ‘Russian lackey,’ ‘insurrectionist,’ and ultimately ‘Hitler’.”
“The time has finally come to hold CNN responsible and legally accountable for their willful deception and defamatory statements made about me and both, directly and indirectly, my strong, devoted, and patriotic supporters,” Trump said in an emailed statement.
President Trump’s lawyers submitted that now is the best time to prove the defamatory allegations on CNN as the media company’s gimmicks can impact the chances of Trump competing in the 2024 presidential election.
“Beyond simply highlighting any negative information about the plaintiff and ignoring all positive information about him, 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,” the filing states.
The filing which was lodged at the US District Court, Southern District of Florida (Fort Lauderdale) maintained that CNN has long been a huge critic of Trump, but the attacks had intensified in the past few months. Notably, CNN has been the most intense news organization covering the Jan 6 insurrection and despite it happening more than a year ago, it has held onto that event as a basis for attacking the former president’s personality.
While CNN is yet to respond to the filing or issue a public statement about it, Trump’s camp is asking for the sum of $475 million in punitive damages.
Former President Trump vs CNN: Who Will the Law Back?
It is not uncommon to sue a media platform if its representation is not correct. However, the false claims that the last Presidential election was rigged and the role played by President Trump to incite the rioters at the Capitol is an event worth covering.
While President Trump definitely has a case against CNN, the media company, with the best sets of lawyers can also mount a very strong defense. This balance makes it difficult to predict in whose favor the law will tilt with this lawsuit.
President Donald Trump has a history of suing his antagonists and while he is accusing CNN of calling him a racist, he has also pitched New York Attorney General, Letitia James of being racist to him, despite the fact that she is a black woman.
The former President has had little success in the lawsuits he has launched since leaving office that involving Hilary Clinton conspiring against him about fake Russian claims were thrown out by a Judge in Florida in September.
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