Trump Announces Intent To Sue CNN For Defamation

On Wednesday, former President Donald Trump announced his intent to sue CNN and other cable networks that have “defamed [him] and defrauded the public” about the 2020 election.

“I have notified CNN of my intent to file a lawsuit over their repeated defamatory statements against me,” Trump said in a statement. “I will also be commencing actions against other media outlets who have defamed me and defrauded the public regarding the overwhelming evidence of fraud throughout the 2020 Election. I will never stop fighting for the truth and for the future of our Country!”

The law firm Ifrah Law sent a Notice of Intent to CNN which included a 26-page letter explaining the basis for the lawsuit along with hundreds of pages of exhibits.

“In November 2016, Americans participated in a spirited presidential election, pitting Hillary Rodham Clinton against President Trump. President Trump earned 306 electoral college votes compared to Clinton’s 227,” the notice said. “After the 2016 election, various members of the Democratic party gave numerous televised statements claiming the 2016 election was illegitimate. This included suggestions about Russian interference causing President Trump to win the election and regular referrals to President Trump being an ‘illegitimate’ President.”

“CNN repeatedly allowed for assertions that President Trump was illegitimately elected to go largely unchallenged, including statements made by Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Jimmy Carter, Jerry Nadler, John Lewis, Dianne Feinstein, Marcia Fudge, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz,” the notice added.

The notice then discusses the 2020 presidential election and the network’s rush to label Trump’s claims about the election as “the big lie,” saying that the label is defamatory because it implies that Trump is knowingly lying to the public.

“In this instance, President Trump’s comments are not lies: He subjectively believes that the results of the 2020 presidential election turned on fraudulent voting activity in several key states. Furthermore, the repeated characterization of President Trump lying was distinctly at odds with CNN’s treatment of individuals claiming President Trump’s 2016 was ‘illegitimate’ or based upon ‘Russian interference,’” the notice stated.