Trump Sues The Des Moines Register, Escalating Threats Against the Media
President-elect
Donald J. Trump has said he would use his power to punish people he
claims have wronged him. Those goals are now coming into focus.
President-elect
Donald J. Trump sued The Des Moines Register for running a poll before
the election that showed him trailing Vice President Kamala Harris,
escalating his threats to seek retribution against the mainstream media
and his political enemies.
Mr. Trump
has long said that people he claims have wronged him should be
prosecuted, including President Biden and his family; Jack Smith, the
special counsel who charged Mr. Trump with trying to overturn the 2020
election and mishandling classified documents; and Liz Cheney, the
former representative from Wyoming who helped lead the House
investigation into Mr. Trump’s efforts to cling to power in 2020.
In
recent months, he has filed various legal actions against the media
that amount to a warning shot about what sort of retaliation
journalists, in particular, might face.
As
he prepares to take office again, Mr. Trump will have at his disposal
the levers of government, a Republican Party that is more pliant than it
was four years ago and a well-funded external political apparatus.
“It’s
clear that Trump is waging war on the press,” said Samantha Barbas, a
professor at the University of Iowa College of Law whose book, “Actual
Malice,” is about the Supreme Court’s most famous defamation case.
“Trump and his lawyers are going to use any legal claim that they think
has a chance of sticking. They’ll cast a wide net to carry out this
vendetta.”
Ms. Barbas added that
prevailing in court may be beside the point. The lawsuits “are not so
much geared toward winning as much as threatening,” she said.
Many
of Mr. Trump’s lawsuits go nowhere, including one that accused Hillary
Clinton and a group of other Democrats of being part of a racketeering
conspiracy against him. That particular suit resulted in nearly $1
million in fines issued by the judge against Mr. Trump’s lawyer.
But
last week, ABC News settled a defamation suit filed against the network
by Mr. Trump for $15 million, along with another $1 million in legal
fees, a huge sum and one that appears to have emboldened the incoming
president.
The latest legal action
came on Monday when Mr. Trump filed a lawsuit against pollster J. Ann
Selzer, her polling firm, The Des Moines Register and Gannett, the
newspaper’s parent company. The suit, filed in Polk County, Iowa, and
obtained by The New York Times, accused Ms. Selzer of “brazen election
interference” for a poll published shortly before the election that
showed Ms. Harris leading in Iowa by three points.
Mr.
Trump won the state handily, as he has in the past. On Monday, at a
news conference in Florida, Mr. Trump previewed the lawsuit, which was
already in the process of being drafted.
“I have to do it,” Mr. Trump said. “We have to straighten out the press.”
Unlike
most of Mr. Trump’s other lawsuits against the media, which involve
claims of defamation, this case alleged Ms. Selzer violated the Iowa
Consumer Fraud Act, which prohibits deceptive practices that occur in
sales or advertising.
“We believe this
lawsuit is without merit,” said Lark-Marie Anton, a spokeswoman for The
Des Moines Register. “We have acknowledged that the Selzer/Des Moines
Register pre-election poll did not reflect the ultimate margin of
President Trump’s Election Day victory in Iowa by releasing the poll’s
full demographics, cross-tabs, weighted and unweighted data, as well as a
technical explanation from pollster Ann Selzer.”
Ms. Anton added: “We stand by our reporting on the matter and will vigorously defend our First Amendment rights.”
Ms.
Selzer said she hadn’t seen the lawsuit and could not comment. But last
week, in an interview with PBS, she strongly denounced the idea that
she was colluding with anyone to influence an election.
The
lawsuit marked the second time this fall that Mr. Trump has used state
laws against misleading consumers to attack a news outlet. In October,
he sued CBS News in federal court in Texas, alleging that “60 Minutes”
engaged in deceptive trade practices when it aired an interview with Ms.
Harris.
That argument — along with
searching for specific legal jurisdictions that the Trump team believes
could be favorable to him — is part of a more targeted approach that the
incoming president and his advisers are taking to use the court system
as a weapon.
Mr. Trump, who has called
reporters “the enemy of the people,” has repeatedly described wanting
to be treated “fairly.” But what he would consider fair has often
appeared to be news coverage that doesn’t challenge him.
Mr.
Trump’s pick to lead the F.B.I., Kash Patel, said months before the
election that he would use his job in the next administration “to come
after the people in the media who lied about American citizens, who
helped Joe Biden rig presidential elections.”
Since
winning the election, Mr. Trump told NBC he didn’t expect that Mr.
Patel would investigate Mr. Trump’s “political enemies.” But when asked
if he wanted to see that happen, Mr. Trump replied: “If they were
crooked, if they did something wrong, if they have broken the law,
probably. They went after me. You know, they went after me, and I did
nothing wrong.”
Just
this week, Mr. Trump’s allies in Congress moved to support his efforts
to seek retribution against Ms. Cheney, a chair of the House committee
that investigated the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and recommended criminal
charges against Mr. Trump.
On Tuesday,
a House oversight subcommittee issued a report recommending that Ms.
Cheney herself face criminal investigation for some of the work she did
while investigating Mr. Trump. The report accused Ms. Cheney of secretly
communicating with one of the committee’s star witnesses, Cassidy
Hutchinson, without Ms. Hutchinson’s lawyer knowing.
Ms.
Hutchinson gave significant but disputed testimony at one of the
committee’s public hearings, describing, among other things, how Mr.
Trump was warned that his supporters were carrying weapons on Jan. 6 but
expressed no concern because they were not a threat to him.
By
recommending that Ms. Cheney be investigated — including for possibly
violating the same federal obstruction count that the congresswoman
recommended against Mr. Trump — the House Republicans appeared to be
laying the groundwork for a potential criminal prosecution. Mr. Trump
has repeatedly said that Ms. Cheney and other members of the Jan. 6
committee should face charges and jail time.
In Mr. Trump’s own telling, winning his civil legal actions isn’t always the point.
Mr.
Trump, who has often attacked journalists publicly for details in news
accounts that he hasn’t liked, famously lost a libel case that he
brought against the writer Timothy O’Brien over Mr. O’Brien’s
description of Mr. Trump’s net worth as much less than he claimed it to
be.
The
case played out over the span of years. But during the 2016 election,
Mr. Trump told The Washington Post that it was worth it, even with the
loss.
“I spent a couple of bucks on
legal fees, and they spent a whole lot more,” he said of Mr. O’Brien and
his book publisher. “I did it to make his life miserable, which I’m
happy about.”
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
After the mask and vaccine mandates, you don't see the irony in this? For the record, I was for some of those mandates, it just sounds funny reading the president doesn't have the power to mandate or force people to do anything now given the last few years and how critical many were for others saying the exact same thing 3 years ago.
After the mask and vaccine mandates, you don't see the irony in this? For the record, I was for some of those mandates, it just sounds funny reading the president doesn't have the power to mandate or force people to do anything now given the last few years and how critical many were for others saying the exact same thing 3 years ago.
Come on man…Follow the Science!!! Lol I can’t wait till they totally expose that quack Dr. Fauci and all his lies.
After the mask and vaccine mandates, you don't see the irony in this? For the record, I was for some of those mandates, it just sounds funny reading the president doesn't have the power to mandate or force people to do anything now given the last few years and how critical many were for others saying the exact same thing 3 years ago.
Come on man…Follow the Science!!! Lol I can’t wait till they totally expose that quack Dr. Fauci and all his lies.
THE REAL ISSUES AFFECTING ALL AMERICANS IN 2025!!! MAGA!!!!!
After the mask and vaccine mandates, you don't see the irony in this? For the record, I was for some of those mandates, it just sounds funny reading the president doesn't have the power to mandate or force people to do anything now given the last few years and how critical many were for others saying the exact same thing 3 years ago.
Come on man…Follow the Science!!! Lol I can’t wait till they totally expose that quack Dr. Fauci and all his lies.
THE REAL ISSUES AFFECTING ALL AMERICANS IN 2025!!! MAGA!!!!!
After the mask and vaccine mandates, you don't see the irony in this? For the record, I was for some of those mandates, it just sounds funny reading the president doesn't have the power to mandate or force people to do anything now given the last few years and how critical many were for others saying the exact same thing 3 years ago.
Come on man…Follow the Science!!! Lol I can’t wait till they totally expose that quack Dr. Fauci and all his lies.
THE REAL ISSUES AFFECTING ALL AMERICANS IN 2025!!! MAGA!!!!!
Looks like rail at the inauguration.
It will be the biggest crowd in the history of the universe....even eclipsing 2017......and possibly January 6th 2021.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
After the mask and vaccine mandates, you don't see the irony in this? For the record, I was for some of those mandates, it just sounds funny reading the president doesn't have the power to mandate or force people to do anything now given the last few years and how critical many were for others saying the exact same thing 3 years ago.
Come on man…Follow the Science!!! Lol I can’t wait till they totally expose that quack Dr. Fauci and all his lies.
So did you walk around mask less and didn’t get vaccinated? And will you do everything wacko RFK Junior advice’s you going forward?
Does maga not realize the republicans have held control of congress for the last two years already? You were gonna hold Fauci and everyone accountable two years ago.
Does maga not realize the republicans have held control of congress for the last two years already? You were gonna hold Fauci and everyone accountable two years ago.
It’s the new Obama indictment. Where’s Bull Durham when you need him?
Does maga not realize the republicans have held control of congress for the last two years already? You were gonna hold Fauci and everyone accountable two years ago.
It’s the new Obama indictment. Where’s Bull Durham when you need him?
I am still holding out hope that they will finally impeach Joe Biden for all of his crimes. Somehow that was all dropped the moment he dropped out of the race.......almost as if......and I don't mean to cynical here, but it's almost as if it was all disingenuous political bullshit. That can't possibly be, right? RIGHT?!?!?!?!?!
Does maga not realize the republicans have held control of congress for the last two years already? You were gonna hold Fauci and everyone accountable two years ago.
It’s the new Obama indictment. Where’s Bull Durham when you need him?
I am still holding out hope that they will finally impeach Joe Biden for all of his crimes. Somehow that was all dropped the moment he dropped out of the race.......almost as if......and I don't mean to cynical here, but it's almost as if it was all disingenuous political bullshit. That can't possibly be, right? RIGHT?!?!?!?!?!
Oh no, Cash and Bondage are going after the Big Guy and his 10%.
After the mask and vaccine mandates, you don't see the irony in this? For the record, I was for some of those mandates, it just sounds funny reading the president doesn't have the power to mandate or force people to do anything now given the last few years and how critical many were for others saying the exact same thing 3 years ago.
Come on man…Follow the Science!!! Lol I can’t wait till they totally expose that quack Dr. Fauci and all his lies.
So did you walk around mask less and didn’t get vaccinated? And will you do everything wacko RFK Junior advice’s you going forward?
Hell NO on getting that Covid Shot for us….We are healthy living a very active lifestyle, eat right unlike many slobby, lazy, addicted to their computer folks who have weak immune systems….You know, our body our choice…. We did not have to wear masks much at all being in Hawaii for the worst of the early part of the skamdemic….It was actually the best winter we ever spent there for heaps of reasons…we respected the few places that wanted you to wear a mask, but that went away pretty early. We are off the grid pretty much , so that was extremely helpful…can’t wait to get back there in a few weeks 4 the winter!! I like RFK, absolutely loved his book Mahalo
After the mask and vaccine mandates, you don't see the irony in this? For the record, I was for some of those mandates, it just sounds funny reading the president doesn't have the power to mandate or force people to do anything now given the last few years and how critical many were for others saying the exact same thing 3 years ago.
Come on man…Follow the Science!!! Lol I can’t wait till they totally expose that quack Dr. Fauci and all his lies.
So did you walk around mask less and didn’t get vaccinated? And will you do everything wacko RFK Junior advice’s you going forward?
After the mask and vaccine mandates, you don't see the irony in this? For the record, I was for some of those mandates, it just sounds funny reading the president doesn't have the power to mandate or force people to do anything now given the last few years and how critical many were for others saying the exact same thing 3 years ago.
Come on man…Follow the Science!!! Lol I can’t wait till they totally expose that quack Dr. Fauci and all his lies.
So did you walk around mask less and didn’t get vaccinated? And will you do everything wacko RFK Junior advice’s you going forward?
After the mask and vaccine mandates, you don't see the irony in this? For the record, I was for some of those mandates, it just sounds funny reading the president doesn't have the power to mandate or force people to do anything now given the last few years and how critical many were for others saying the exact same thing 3 years ago.
Come on man…Follow the Science!!! Lol I can’t wait till they totally expose that quack Dr. Fauci and all his lies.
So did you walk around mask less and didn’t get vaccinated? And will you do everything wacko RFK Junior advice’s you going forward?
Hell NO on getting that Covid Shot for us….We are healthy living a very active lifestyle, eat right unlike many slobby, lazy, addicted to their computer folks who have weak immune systems….You know, our body our choice…. We did not have to wear masks much at all being in Hawaii for the worst of the early part of the skamdemic….It was actually the best winter we ever spent there for heaps of reasons…we respected the few places that wanted you to wear a mask, but that went away pretty early. We are off the grid pretty much , so that was extremely helpful…can’t wait to get back there in a few weeks 4 the winter!! I like RFK, absolutely loved his book Mahalo
After the mask and vaccine mandates, you don't see the irony in this? For the record, I was for some of those mandates, it just sounds funny reading the president doesn't have the power to mandate or force people to do anything now given the last few years and how critical many were for others saying the exact same thing 3 years ago.
Come on man…Follow the Science!!! Lol I can’t wait till they totally expose that quack Dr. Fauci and all his lies.
So did you walk around mask less and didn’t get vaccinated? And will you do everything wacko RFK Junior advice’s you going forward?
Hell NO on getting that Covid Shot for us….We are healthy living a very active lifestyle, eat right unlike many slobby, lazy, addicted to their computer folks who have weak immune systems….You know, our body our choice…. We did not have to wear masks much at all being in Hawaii for the worst of the early part of the skamdemic….It was actually the best winter we ever spent there for heaps of reasons…we respected the few places that wanted you to wear a mask, but that went away pretty early. We are off the grid pretty much , so that was extremely helpful…can’t wait to get back there in a few weeks 4 the winter!! I like RFK, absolutely loved his book Mahalo
It's just amazing...imagine if Soros was threatening dems with funding primary opponents if they didn't get in line, add to that Soros telling a dem speaker of the house what to do...and add to that the millions/billions paid to Soros if he begged for energy credits to buy his cars and funding for his space hobby.
The GOP is one big human turd
Remember the Thomas Nine !! (10/02/2018) The Golden Age is 2 months away. And guess what….. you’re gonna love it! (teskeinc 11.19.24)
1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago 2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy 2013: London ON, Wrigley; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE) 2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston 2020: Oakland, Oakland:2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana 2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville 2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana; 2025: Pitt1, Pitt2
Comments
I guess that was a rhetorical question, lol!
-Eddie Vedder, "Smile"
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
For the record, I was for some of those mandates, it just sounds funny reading the president doesn't have the power to mandate or force people to do anything now given the last few years and how critical many were for others saying the exact same thing 3 years ago.
I can’t wait till they totally expose that quack Dr. Fauci and all his lies.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
We did not have to wear masks much at all being in Hawaii for the worst of the early part of the skamdemic….It was actually the best winter we ever spent there for heaps of reasons…we respected the few places that wanted you to wear a mask, but that went away pretty early. We are off the grid pretty much , so that was extremely helpful…can’t wait to get back there in a few weeks 4 the winter!! I like RFK, absolutely loved his book
Mahalo
lol....Christ
The Golden Age is 2 months away. And guess what….. you’re gonna love it! (teskeinc 11.19.24)
1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago
2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy
2013: London ON, Wrigley; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE)
2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston
2020: Oakland, Oakland: 2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana
2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville
2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana; 2025: Pitt1, Pitt2
Stop payment on all space x contracts.
The GOP is one big human turd
The Golden Age is 2 months away. And guess what….. you’re gonna love it! (teskeinc 11.19.24)
1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago
2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy
2013: London ON, Wrigley; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE)
2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston
2020: Oakland, Oakland: 2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana
2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville
2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana; 2025: Pitt1, Pitt2
The Golden Age is 2 months away. And guess what….. you’re gonna love it! (teskeinc 11.19.24)
1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago
2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy
2013: London ON, Wrigley; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE)
2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston
2020: Oakland, Oakland: 2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana
2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville
2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana; 2025: Pitt1, Pitt2
LOL funding bills are written by the party controlling the House, which is the GOP.
You think Johnson is conferring with the Dems on what to put in the bill?
We are in debt bc we spend the better part of a trillion dollars a year on defense without a military tax to pay for it
The Golden Age is 2 months away. And guess what….. you’re gonna love it! (teskeinc 11.19.24)
1998: Noblesville; 2003: Noblesville; 2009: EV Nashville, Chicago, Chicago
2010: St Louis, Columbus, Noblesville; 2011: EV Chicago, East Troy, East Troy
2013: London ON, Wrigley; 2014: Cincy, St Louis, Moline (NO CODE)
2016: Lexington, Wrigley #1; 2018: Wrigley, Wrigley, Boston, Boston
2020: Oakland, Oakland: 2021: EV Ohana, Ohana, Ohana, Ohana
2022: Oakland, Oakland, Nashville, Louisville; 2023: Chicago, Chicago, Noblesville
2024: Noblesville, Wrigley, Wrigley, Ohana, Ohana; 2025: Pitt1, Pitt2