Former President Donald Trump has sued CNN for defamation.
Trump who filed the lawsuit in Florida on Monday, claimed 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, culminating in CNN claiming credit for ‘[getting] Trump out’ in the 2020 presidential election.”
Trump is reportedly suing the outlet, who boasted record viewership during Trump’s time in the White House, for $475 million, according to The Hill.
The former president’s attorneys allege in the filing that CNN “has undertaken a smear campaign to malign the Plaintiff with a barrage of negative associations and innuendos, broadcasting commentary that he is like a cult leader, a Russian lackey, a dog whistler to white supremacists, and a racist.”
It also cited anchors, personalities and pundits on CNN using the term “Big Lie” to refer to Trump’s repeated false statements about the 2020 election and voter fraud as evidence of the outlet attempting to associate him with Adolf Hitler.
Trump has hinted before at suing the left-wing news network. Over the summer Trump said in a statement he would “also be commencing actions against other media outlets who have defamed me and defrauded the public regarding the overwhelming evidence of fraud throughout the 2020 Election.”
So far it’s unclear if Trump plans to target any other news outlets.
CNN has recently been undergoing a makeover under its new leader Chris Licht. In a distinct shift from former president Jeff Zucker’s highly partisan approach to news Licht has opted to remove any highly partisan talent from the air.
Left-wing hosts like Brian Stelter were the first to get the axe but recently former primetime host Don Lemon was demoted to co-hosting the network’s morning show, a message that no CNN talent is safe under the new regime.
In order to prove defamation, public officials and other public figures must prove journalists acted with actual malice or reckless disregard for the truth in their reporting, a distinctly high legal bar.
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