Trump 2020 Campaign Files Libel Lawsuits Against the New York Times, Washington Post and CNN

2020 | Organization « Trump Campaign Organization « Libel Lawsuits

Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
- MARCH 6, 2020 -

Trump campaign files libel suit against CNN

Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. today filed a libel lawsuit against CNN for publishing false and defamatory statements. The lawsuit, filed today in the U.S. District Court in Atlanta, seeks to hold CNN accountable for intentionally publishing false statements against President Trump’s campaign.

Statement from Jenna Ellis, Senior Legal Adviser to Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.:

"Today the President's re-election campaign has filed suit against CNN for false statements, claiming that the campaign ‘assessed the potential risks and benefits of again seeking Russia's help in 2020 and has decided to leave that option on the table.’ The statements were and are 100 percent false and defamatory. The complaint alleges CNN was aware of the falsity at the time it published them, but did so for the intentional purpose of hurting the campaign, while misleading its own readers in the process. Further, the campaign, through counsel, sent a written demand to CNN on February 25, 2020 to retract and apologize for the false and defamatory statements. CNN refused, so the campaign was left with no alternative but to file suit to publicly establish the truth and seek appropriate remedies.

"The campaign filed this lawsuit against CNN and the preceding suits against The New York Times and The Washington Post to hold the publishers accountable for their reckless false reporting and also to establish the truth: that the campaign did not have an agreement, quid pro quo, or collusion with Russia, as the Mueller Report concluded. The campaign was motivated by the fact that the publications recklessly published false statements which caused harm and intentionally mislead their readers. False statements are not protected under the U.S. Constitution; therefore, these suits will have no chilling effect on freedom of the press. If journalists are more accurate in their statements and reporting, that would be a positive development, but not why these suits were filed."

To view a copy of the filing, click here.

Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
- MARCH 3, 2020 -

Trump campaign files libel suit against The Washington Post

Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. today filed a libel lawsuit against The Washington Post for two stories falsely reporting as fact a conspiracy with Russia. The lawsuit, filed today in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, seeks to hold the news organization accountable for intentionally publishing false statements against President Trump's campaign.

Statement from Jenna Ellis, Senior Legal Adviser to Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.:

“Today the President's re-election campaign has filed suit against The Washington Post for false statements contained in two published articles, including defamatory claims that the campaign ‘tried to conspire with’ a ‘sweeping and systematic’ attack by Russia against the 2016 U.S. presidential election and ‘who knows what sort of aid Russia and North Korea will give to the Trump campaign, now that he has invited them to offer their assistance?’

“The statements were and are 100 percent false and defamatory. The complaint alleges The Post was aware of the falsity at the time it published them, but did so for the intentional purpose of hurting the campaign, while misleading its own readers in the process. The campaign files suit to publicly establish the truth and seek appropriate legal remedies for the harm caused by false reporting.”

To view a copy of the filing, click here.

Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
- FEBRUARY 26, 2020 -

Trump campaign files libel suit against New York Times

Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. today filed a libel lawsuit against the New York Times over a story falsely reporting as fact a conspiracy with Russia. The lawsuit, filed today in the New York State Supreme Court, aims to hold the news organization accountable for intentionally publishing false statements against President Trump’s campaign.

Statement from Jenna Ellis, Senior Legal Adviser to Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.:

“Today the President’s re-election campaign filed suit against the New York Times for falsely stating the campaign had an ‘overarching deal’ with ‘Vladimir Putin's oligarchy’ to ‘help the campaign against Hillary Clinton’ in exchange for ‘a new pro-Russian foreign policy, starting with relief from ... economic sanctions.’ The statements were and are 100 percent false and defamatory. The complaint alleges The Times was aware of the falsity at the time it published them, but did so for the intentional purpose of hurting the campaign, while misleading its own readers in the process.”

For a copy of the filing click here.