On Wednesday (July 27), former President Donald Trump warned that he would be suing CNN for its “defamatory statements” dating as far back as 2016 during his Presidential campaign.
In a statement, Trump revealed that he had “notified CNN of my intent to file a lawsuit over their repeated defamatory statements against me.”
The former President won’t be sparing other publications and news outlets for their negative coverage, which he claims “defamed me and defrauded the public regarding the overwhelming evidence of fraud throughout the 2020 Election.”
Trump concluded his statement, saying, “I will never stop fighting for the truth and for the future of our Country!”
Trump’s statement refers to a 282-page letter from Trump’s attorneys to CNN executives, calling for the latter to retract various on-air statements and published articles, which Trump and his team allege are defamatory and false.
Most of the dozens of examples included in the letter center around the network’s coverage of Trump’s incessant claims that the 2020 Presidential election was fraudulent.
When covering these claims, CNN consistently referred to them as “false narratives,” “lies,” and “baseless claims,” among other terms.
The lawsuit alleges these claims were “false and defamatory” partly because Trump genuinely believes the election was stolen.
The letter states, “Without regard for President Trump’s genuine belief in his statements, CNN has published numerous articles characterizing him as a ‘liar’ and the purveyor of the ‘Big Lie.'”
However, assessing the dozens of lawsuits filed in the wake of the 2020 Presidential election that claimed widespread fraud tipped the scales in Biden’s favor, Trump is unlikely to win a defamation suit against CNN.
Many of these lawsuits were summarily dismissed, including dozens by Trump-appointed judges.
