Donald Trump has filed a defamation lawsuit against the NYT, 4 of its journalists and CBS and has claimed damages of 10 billion dollars. No doubt there will be amendments adding other defendants as the case proceeds.
The current case of NYT v Sullivan, is the landmark 1964 decision of SCOTUS which established the burden of proof that a public official must maintain to establish a winning case. SCOTUS held that the public official must establish not only the usual elements of libel, that the article was false and defamatory, but also that the plaintiff must prove that the defendant had made the statements with "ACTUAL MALICE." Actual malice is defined as the defendant either knew the statements were false or recklessly disregarded that the statements might be false.
This case will prove to be riveting as it sets up the general rhetoric of Trump that the MSM is" fake news," with the MSM screaming that Trump is assaulting the First Amendment and Free Speech. The CBS portion of the case involves at least in part the recent Harris Interview that Trump and others have claimed was edited by CBS to aid and propel Harris to victory in the election.
Much popcorn is going to be consumed watching the progress of this case through the courts.
The current case of NYT v Sullivan, is the landmark 1964 decision of SCOTUS which established the burden of proof that a public official must maintain to establish a winning case. SCOTUS held that the public official must establish not only the usual elements of libel, that the article was false and defamatory, but also that the plaintiff must prove that the defendant had made the statements with "ACTUAL MALICE." Actual malice is defined as the defendant either knew the statements were false or recklessly disregarded that the statements might be false.
This case will prove to be riveting as it sets up the general rhetoric of Trump that the MSM is" fake news," with the MSM screaming that Trump is assaulting the First Amendment and Free Speech. The CBS portion of the case involves at least in part the recent Harris Interview that Trump and others have claimed was edited by CBS to aid and propel Harris to victory in the election.
Much popcorn is going to be consumed watching the progress of this case through the courts.
