Brooke Heneghan
Donald Trump’s $475m defamation lawsuit against CNN, for allegedly likening him to Adolf Hitler, has been thrown out of federal court.
Proceedings to sue CNN for defamation began in October 2022, after they referred to his claim that the 2020 presidential election against Biden had been stolen from him as the “Big Lie”.
“CNN has tried to taint the plaintiff with a series of ever-more scandalous, false, and defamatory labels”
Trump claimed that the term chosen by the US news network likened him to Adolf Hitler, as the term had also been used to justify the persecution of Jews, and is associated with Nazi propaganda.
The 29-page lawsuit stated: “As a part of its concerted effort to tilt the political balance to the left, CNN has tried to taint the plaintiff with a series of ever-more scandalous, false, and defamatory labels of ‘racist’, ‘Russian lackey’, ‘insurrectionist’, and ultimately ‘Hitler”.
“The complained of statements are opinion, not factually false statements, and therefore are not actionable.”
Despite the former president’s concerns that the claim damaged his reputation and political career, federal Judge Raag Singhal, who was nominated by Trump in 2019, determined that CNN’s words were not factual.
Therefore, they could not be the subject of a defamation claim.
“CNN’s statements, while repugnant, were not, as a matter of law, defamatory,” the judge concluded.
Giving his verdict, he wrote: “The complained of statements are opinion, not factually false statements, and therefore are not actionable.”
He continued, “CNN’s use of the phrase ‘the Big Lie’ in connection with Trump’s election challenges does not give rise to a plausible inference that Trump advocates the persecution and genocide of Jews or any other group of people. No reasonable viewer could (or should) plausibly make that reference.”
Trump’s Reaction
Following the verdict, a Trump spokesperson said: “We agree with the highly respected judge’s findings that CNN’s statements about President Trump are repugnant. CNN will be held responsible for their wrongful mistreatment of President Trump and his supporters.”
It is unclear whether Trump will appeal the decision.
In March, a grand jury voted to indict Trump, making him the first former president to face criminal charges. These came as a result of alleged hush money, as his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, had paid $130,000 to Stormy Daniels to prevent her from sharing details of their 2016 affair.
Trump’s History in Court
“The attack left Carroll unable to have a romantic relationship.”
In May, A New York jury found that Donald Trump sexually abused advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, almost three decades ago.
Carroll’s testimony described the events that took place in a New York department store changing room in 1996.
The attack left Carroll unable to have a romantic relationship. She said Trump “shattered” her reputation when he denied the attack in 2019. On her first day of testimony, Trump referred to the accusations as “a made-up SCAM”.
The jury deliberated for less than three hours, and found Trump liable for sexual abuse, but not rape. It awarded Carroll $5m in compensatory and punitive damages.
A further defamation trial has been scheduled for 15th January 2024 in a New York federal court.
Trump vs the Media
Trump has long made his distrust of media outlets clear, having previously branded the media as the “enemy of the people” and often labelling certain reports as “fake news”.
Trump is set to face several legal battles as he begins his presidential re-election campaign. A federal judge has set a trial date for May next year after he was charged with illegally retaining hundreds of classified US documents in Florida.
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Image courtesy of Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons. Image license found here. No changes were made to this image.
