by Former President Donald Trump is suing CNN in a $475 million defamation lawsuit, according to a complaint filed in federal court Monday.
The lawsuit focuses on the network’s characterization of Trump as a “racist,” a “Russian lackey,” a “seditionist,” and Trump’s “persistent association” with Adolf Hitler and Nazism.
“[T]it is finally time to hold CNN accountable and legally responsible for its deliberate deception and defamatory statements it has made about me and both, directly and indirectly, my strong, dedicated and patriotic supporters,” Trump said in a statement. was released shortly after his lawyers filed the lawsuit.
Pr. Donald Trump’s statement on his lawsuit against CNN.
Trump promises to file more lawsuits against other news companies “in the coming weeks and months.” 👇@OANN pic.twitter.com/JbD5iDFlne
— Daniel Baldwin (@baldwin_daniel_) October 3, 2022
According to the complaint, Trump accused CNN of using its “great influence – supposedly a ‘trusted’ news source – to discredit the Plaintiff in the minds of its viewers and readers in order to defeat him politically.”
Donald Trump is suing CNN for $475 million for calling him a seditious, racist, werewolf and comparing him to Hitler. https://t.co/eBqcWgX7Ce pic.twitter.com/ZJD4s1O6Sz
— Ron Filipkowski 🇺 (@RonFilipkowski) October 3, 2022
The complaint continued:
CNN’s smear and smear campaign against the Plaintiff has only escalated in recent months as CNN fears that the Plaintiff will run for president in 2024. As part of its concerted effort to tilt the political balance to the Left , CNN has attempted to smear the Plaintiff with a series of increasingly scandalous, false and defamatory labels of “racist”, “Russian lackey”, “insurgent” and finally “Hitler”.
Trump’s lawsuit points to several examples of CNN likening Trump to Hitler, most notably the network’s use of the phrase “Big Lie,” which refers to Trump’s claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged.
As Trump’s complaint noted, “The ‘Big Lie’ is a direct reference to a tactic used by Adolf Hitler that appears in Hitler’s Mein Kampf.”
“The ‘Big Lie’ was used by Hitler to incite hatred of Jews and to persuade people to ostracize Jews,” the complaint continued. “It was a whole propaganda campaign to justify the persecution and genocide of the Jews. The phrase is not taken lightly and is not used politely. CNN’s anchors and commentators understand this.”
Trump’s complaint included a request for $75,000 in damages for CNN’s reputational damage and $475 million in punitive damages.
Although public officials suing for defamation must prove that a reporter acted with actual malice or reckless disregard for the truth, CNN settled a $275 million defamation lawsuit with Covington Catholic graduate Nick Sandman in 2020.
Trump’s lawsuit against CNN isn’t the only corporate media outlet he plans to sue.
“In the coming weeks and months we will also be filing lawsuits against a large number of other Fake News media companies for their lies, defamation and wrongdoing, including ‘The Big Lie,’ which they so often used as a reference in their disinformation attack on the Presidential elections. 2020 election,” Trump said he said in his statement.
Trump also indicated that he “may take appropriate action” against the January 6 Commission for its failure to “investigate the massive fraud in the presidential election that took place.”
Trump faulted the Jan. 6 Commission for failing to recognize that in the days leading up to the riots on Capitol Hill, he “authorized and authorized thousands of troops to be deployed to ensure that there was peace, safety and security on Capitol Hill and across the country. .”
“I am proud to file today’s lawsuit to begin the process of taking back Fake News and the Mainstream Media,” Trump concluded.
The case is Trump vs. CNNNo. 0:22-cv-61842, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Jordan Dixon-Hamilton is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at [email protected] or follow him Twitter.
