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Welcome to The Logoff: President Donald Trump is suing the New York Occasions for defamation, demanding $15 billion in damages as a part of his newest assault on the free press.
What does the lawsuit say? Trump alleges that three New York Occasions articles revealed in 2024 have been written to undermine his marketing campaign within the closing stretch of the election, and the swimsuit names 4 Occasions journalists and the writer of a e-book by two of the reporters, as co-defendants.
The swimsuit additionally consists of aggrandizing descriptions of Trump’s profession, together with his “magnificent actual property achievements” and his “sui generis charisma and distinctive enterprise acumen.”
In an announcement, the Occasions stated that Trump’s swimsuit “lacks any reliable authorized claims and as a substitute is an try and stifle and discourage impartial reporting.”
What’s the aim of the lawsuit? In idea, the swimsuit is meant to recoup damages for what it describes as “false, malicious, defamatory, and disparaging” reporting. In actuality, the grievance — and the eye-popping request for damages — is finest seen as half of a bigger sample of habits by Trump that’s meant to suppress reliable, essential reporting on Trump’s life, marketing campaign, and administration by US information organizations.
Is Trump going to succeed? Nearly definitely not. Defamation fits towards a public determine have to fulfill a particularly excessive bar, known as precise malice, to succeed, and reality is an absolute protection.
What’s the massive image? Trump’s assaults on the media are meant to coerce extra favorable protection of his administration. He has beforehand sued each ABC and CBS for his or her protection, extracting settlements value tens of millions of {dollars}, and he has a pending $10 billion lawsuit towards the Wall Road Journal and its proprietor, Rupert Murdoch.
On Tuesday, he instructed ABC reporter Jonathan Karl that the Justice Division may “go after folks such as you since you deal with me so unfairly.”
And with that, it’s time to sign off…
Robert Redford, the legendary actor and director, died at present at 89. The Washington Submit has an awesome record of a few of his finest works right here (and what sort of journalists would we be if we didn’t point out his position as journalism legend Bob Woodward in All of the President’s Males), however I wish to level to this clip, from A River Runs By means of It, too. The movie, directed by Redford, is a good looking adaptation of what Roger Ebert described as “one of many few good books of the twentieth century,” and it’s one which Redford fought exhausting to get made. In case you’re in search of one thing to observe in his reminiscence, I extremely suggest it. Have an awesome night!
