Monday, January 20, 2025
12.0°F

Trump campaign sues Washington Post, claims defamation

Aamer Madhani | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 10 months AGO
by Aamer Madhani
| March 3, 2020 6:08 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s campaign on Tuesday sued the The Washington Post, alleging defamation in two opinion articles published last year that it said falsely claimed the campaign conspired with Russia.

The lawsuit cites a June 13 opinion piece by Greg Sargent that said Trump “tried to conspire with” a “sweeping and systematic” attack by Russia against the 2016 U.S. presidential election. It also cites a June 20 opinion piece by Paul Waldman that asked “who knows what sort of aid Russia and North Korea will give to the Trump campaign, now that he has invited them to offer their assistance?”

“The statements were and are 100 percent false and defamatory,” Jenna Ellis, a senior legal adviser to the Trump campaign, said in a statement.

Kristine Coratti Kelly, vice president of communications at the Post, said it was “disappointing to see the president’s campaign committee resorting to these types of tactics and we will vigorously defend this case.”

Trump has chafed at media scrutiny and repeatedly lashed out against the newspaper and its owner, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

The lawsuit, filed U.S. District in Washington, came a week after the campaign sued The New York Times for defamation over an op-ed that claimed a quid pro quo between Trump and Russia.

The American Civil Liberties Union called both lawsuits meritless.

“Anyone who cares about the First Amendment should be troubled by the Trump campaign’s repeated attempts to punish and intimidate the president’s critics,” said Brian Hauss, staff attorney for the ACLU's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. He spoke in response to the libel suit against the Post.

MORE IMPORTED STORIES

Trump campaign sues Washington Post, claims defamation
Columbia Basin Herald | Updated 4 years, 10 months ago
Trump campaign sues NY Times for defamation over Putin
Columbia Basin Herald | Updated 4 years, 10 months ago
Trump campaign sues NY Times for defamation over Putin
Columbia Basin Herald | Updated 4 years, 10 months ago

ARTICLES BY AAMER MADHANI

September 13, 2021 12:03 a.m.

Biden to survey wildfire damage, make case for spending plan

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — President Joe Biden is promoting his administration’s use of a wartime law to aid in wildfire preparedness Monday during a Western swing in which he's surveying damage in California and meeting with fire officials in Idaho.

September 12, 2021 12:03 a.m.

Biden calls Xi as US-China relationship grows more fraught

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden spoke with China's Xi Jinping on Thursday amid growing frustration on the American side that high-level engagement between the two leaders' top advisers has been largely unfruitful in the early going of the Biden presidency.

September 11, 2021 12:03 a.m.

Biden ousts 18 Trump military academy board appointees

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Wednesday removed 18 appointees named to U.S. military academy boards by Donald Trump in the final months of the Republican president's term in office, according to the White House.