Summary: This weekend, Donald Trump tweeted he may sue New York Times for libel.
Donald Trump has a history of fighting with the media during his presidential campaign, and now he’s threatening major news site, The New York Times, with litigation. This weekend, the Republican nominee went on a Twitter rant, calling the New York Times’ columnist Maureen Dowd “a neurotic dope” before threatening to sue the publication.
“My lawyers want to sue the failing @nytimes so badly for irresponsible intent. I said no (for now), but they are watching. Really disgusting,” Trump tweeted on Saturday.
Chris Matyszczyk of CNET found issue with Trump’s phrase “irresponsible intent.”
“For now, I’m not aware that irresponsible intent is a known legal concept when it comes to libel,” Matyszczyk said. “I had understood that the 1964 Supreme Court case of New York Times vs. Sullivan was rather influential in suggesting that for a libel suit to succeed, it had to prove that an allegedly libelous statement was made “with knowledge that it was false or with reckless disregard of whether it was false or not.”
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Trump attacked Dowd after she said he appeared to enjoy inciting violence at his rallies. After he called her a “dope” and denied her claim, he went in on the New York Times’ allegedly biased coverage in favor of his opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton.
“The failing @nytimes has gone nuts that Crooked Hillary is doing so badly. They are willing to say anything, has become a laughingstock rag!” Trump tweeted.
While Trump has not filed a lawsuit against the New York Times as of publication, his wife Melania hired high-powered attorney Charles Harder to fight against The Daily Mail for publishing a story alleging she was once an escort.
Trump has a history of filing and defending lawsuits. According to USA Today, he has been involved in almost 4,000 cases, and Trump critics said he often sues naysayers to intimidate people into silence.
“Plainly, the guy uses lawsuits as a tool of intimidation and doesn’t care how much he clogs the courts with nonsense,” Comedian Bill Maher said.
Trump Organization attorney Alan Garten had told USA Today that it was important for Trump to protect his name from attacks, as his name is integral to his business.
Do you think the New York Times is favoring Clinton? Do you think Trump will end up suing the newspaper? Let us know in the comments below.
Source: CNET
Photo courtesy of BGR