U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump Files Multi-Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against Several U.S. Media Outlets, Including The New York Times, Penguin Random House, The Daily Beast, and CBS News, Accusing Them of “Bias” and “Political Bullying.”
The New York Times is also being sued by Trump. Photo: CJR.
Allegations of Bullying
With only two months until Donald Trump’s return to the White House, the president-elect has launched a series of lawsuits against media companies and publishers critical of him.
The Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) reported on November 14 that just days before the presidential election, Trump’s lawyer, Edward Andrew Paltzik, sent a letter to The New York Times and book publisher Penguin Random House demanding $10 billion in damages over articles critical of Trump.
The letter accused authors Peter Baker, Michael S. Schmidt, Susanne Craig, and Russ Buettner of “false and defamatory statements” about Trump, adding that The New York Times has become “an official mouthpiece of the Democratic Party,” engaged in “industrial-scale defamation against political opponents.”
According to CJR, the letter highlighted two specific stories by Buettner and Craig tied to their recent book: “Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success.”
It also cited an October 20 article by Baker titled “For Trump, a Lifetime of Scandal Heads Toward a Moment of Reckoning” and an October 22 article by Schmidt titled “With Election Looming, Kelly Warns Trump Would Govern as a Dictator,” CJR reported.
In a letter to The New York Times, it alleged that the publication aimed to “malign and diminish the world-famous Trump brand, which consumers have long associated with excellence, luxury, and success in entertainment, hospitality, and real estate, among other industries, and wrongfully defame him as a candidate for the highest office in America.”
In response, the newspaper referred attorney Paltzik to Penguin Random House for issues with Buettner and Craig’s book, maintaining its defense of the articles, a source familiar with the matter told CJR.
On November 5, Trump campaign co-director Chris LaCivita’s attorney sent a letter to The Daily Beast, demanding corrections to articles suggesting that LaCivita raised $22 million to help re-elect Trump.
In response, The Daily Beast added an editor’s note to its articles, stating: “Based on a further review of FEC records, the correct amount is $19.2 million. The Beast regrets the error. The article has also been updated to clarify that payments were made to LaCivita’s LLC, not to him personally.”
However, a subsequent legal letter to the outlet claimed the note “does not resolve the overarching message of the story – portraying Mr. LaCivita as having pocketed campaign funds for personal profit and implying he was on the verge of being ‘fired’ for it.”
“This entire narrative is entirely false and the product of The Daily Beast’s malicious and irresponsible reporting,” the letter added.
Beyond The New York Times, Penguin Random House, and The Daily Beast, Trump and his campaign lawyers have also sued CBS News, claiming in a lawsuit last month that its interview with Kamala Harris on “60 Minutes” on October 7 was edited and thus constituted “election interference.”
The 19-page complaint demanded $10 billion in damages, accusing CBS of “accelerating Kamala Harris’s election” and “engaging in partisan and unlawful voter influence through significant, misleading, and malicious distortion of news.”
CBS responded by calling the lawsuit “utterly baseless,” denying that the interview was edited, and vowing to “vigorously defend” against the lawsuit.
Around the same time, Trump filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against The Washington Post, alleging the paper made illegal in-kind contributions to Harris’s campaign. The Washington Post dismissed the claims as unfounded and baseless. Just before Election Day, the paper, under the direction of billionaire owner Jeff Bezos, declined to endorse a political candidate this year, with Bezos later calling Trump’s re-election “an extraordinary political comeback.”
A Chilling Battle
In response to Trump’s re-election victory and his ongoing attacks on journalists, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) called Trump’s threats against the press a “clear and present danger to press freedom.”
“The hostile media atmosphere cultivated during Donald Trump’s first presidency – expected to continue in his upcoming second term – poses significant risks to both domestic and international media,” CPJ added.
Supporting CPJ, Reporters Without Borders issued a similar statement following Trump’s victory, saying: “Attacking the press is truly an attack on Americans’ right to know. The new Trump administration can and must change its attitude toward the media and take concrete steps to protect journalists and foster an environment conducive to a strong, pluralistic news media.”
The Columbia Journalism Review noted that the drumbeat of legal threats could spell ominous trends for journalists in Trump’s second term. Litigation is costly and time-consuming. Most news organizations will seek settlements rather than face months—likely years—of discovery, testimony, and significant legal fees.
Anne Champion, who has represented CNN in legal matters related to Donald Trump, said in an interview: “Such scrutiny genuinely creates a chilling effect.”
“It’s both conscious and subconscious. Journalists at smaller outlets are keenly aware that the costs for their organization to defend itself could mean bankruptcy. Even those at larger outlets don’t want themselves or their staff weighed down by litigation. It adds yet another layer of influence over the journalistic process,” she said.
