Trump Defamation Case Against CNN Dismissed
US District Judge Raag Singhal on Friday dismissed former Pres. Trump’s defamation case against CNN, which Trump claimed compared him to Adolf Hitler and the Nazis by using the phrase “the big lie” to describe his false claims the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him....
Facts
- US District Judge Raag Singhal on Friday dismissed former Pres. Trump’s defamation case against CNN, which Trump claimed compared him to Adolf Hitler and the Nazis by using the phrase “the big lie” to describe his false claims the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him.1
- Trump, currently a candidate for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, filed his lawsuit in October seeking punitive damages of $475M, claiming the network’s references hurt his reputation and political career.2
- Singhal, a 2019 Trump nominee to the bench, wrote in his ruling that CNN’s statements may have been “repugnant” but didn’t qualify as “defamatory” under the law.3
- Based on the precedent set in the 1964 Supreme Court case, New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, defamation of a public figure can only be found when a statement is false and its publisher acted with “actual malice.”4
- Throughout history, the phrase “big lie” has referenced a propaganda technique whereby a lie is repeated so often people believe it’s the truth. It has often been linked to Hitler and Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels.5
Sources: 1USA Today, 2NPR Online News, 3Reuters, 4Washington Post and 5BBC News.
Narratives
- Pro-Trump narrative, as provided by Washington Examiner. CNN has done nothing but smear Trump since he first announced his run for president in 2015, and the network should have to pay for equating him with Hitler and Nazis. The network’s malice is evident in its silence about Democratic politicians who have complained about election integrity through the years. Someday CNN will be held accountable for its biased rhetoric.
- Democratic narrative, as provided by MSNBC. While Trump keeps telling his followers he’s a winner, this case gets added to the laundry list of defeats he has suffered in the courts — including other suits against media outlets. The freedom of the press is a pillar of the US, and Trump is finding out the hard way that he can’t just use the legal system to attack news outlets he feels has besmirched him.
