Donald Trump not only exposed Big Media's leftist bias, but defeated what he referred to as "very fake news" in the court of public opinion, where Big Media now dwells in the cellar when it comes to trustworthiness.
As he had vowed in July, Trump is now launching his legal offensive against the Big Media cabal which appears to be more than reality TV entertainment.
Trump is suing CNN in federal court in Florida for defamation. According to the lawsuit filed on Monday, Trump is seeking $475 million in punitive damages.
"A lawsuit was filed today against CNN, the once prestigious news channel that has devolved into a purveyor of disinformation, defamation, and Fake News, at a level which the American Public, and indeed the World, will not even believe is possible," Trump said in a statement on Monday.
"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," Trump added.
Trump's attorneys say that CNN "has sought to use its massive influence — purportedly as a ‘trusted’ news source — to defame the Plaintiff in the minds of its viewers and readers for the purpose of defeating him politically, culminating in CNN claiming credit for ‘[getting] Trump out’ in the 2020 presidential election."
Trump had announced in July that he would be suing the network for defamation: "I have notified CNN of my intent to file a lawsuit over their repeated defamatory statements against me."
"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 20202 Election. I will never stop fighting for the truth and for the future of our Country!" Trump’s statement continued.
In Monday's court filing, Trump’s lawyers cited CNN personality Fareed Zakaria’s “Special Report: The Fight to Save Democracy” that aired in early January as a key example of “intentional, willful, and malicious libel and slander” by comparing Trump to Adolf Hitler.
The court filing states: “A focal point of the report is a discussion of the ascendancy of Hitler and comparisons to the plaintiff, interspersing discussion of Hitler and Nazi Germany with footage of the plaintiff. Zakaria states in the report, ‘Let’s be very clear. Donald Trump is not Adolf Hitler.’ But the disclaimer is lost in an otherwise direct and graphic analogy.”
Brent Baker, vice president of the Media Research Center, noted: “Any ‘journalist’ who says ‘Let’s be very clear, Donald Trump is not Adolf Hitler,’ is, in fact, saying Donald Trump is very much like Hitler. And, by extension, Trump’s supporters are following the same deluded path which led to Nazi rule. Such apocalyptic fear mongering, painting a significant percent of the public as a threat to democracy, just further proves CNN is more an arm of liberal Democratic Party activists than an impartial news organization.”
Baker told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday: “This Fareed Zakaria special was long begging for a lawsuit. It was framed around comparisons of Trump’s rise to power in America to Hitler’s rise to power in Germany. And no matter what disclaimers Zakaria put in, defaming Trump and his supporters as analogous to a fascist mass murderer was the entire point of the CNN show.”
Trump's Monday statement in full:
A lawsuit was filed today against CNN, the once prestigious news channel that has devolved into a purveyor of disinformation, defamation, and Fake News, at a level which the American Public, and indeed the World, will not even believe is possible. For years I have watched this take place, often in disbelief, but the time has finally come to hold CNN responsible and legally accountable for their willful deception and defamatory statements made about me and both, directly and indirectly, my strong, devoted, and patriotic supporters-People who love the United States of America, but have been treated very unfairly, at so many levels. "The Big Lie" that they constantly refer to is actually "The Big Lie" in reverse. They know that, and it will be proven in Court!
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 as it pertains to "The Big Lie," that they used so often in reference to their disinformation attack on Presidential Election of 2020. Likewise, we may bring appropriate action against the Unselect Committee of January 6th because, notwithstanding overwhelming evidence, they REFUSED to investigate the massive Presidential Election Fraud which took place, but only investigate and harass the people and Patriots who complained and asked questions about it. The rigging and stealing of our Presidential Election was perhaps The Crime Of The Century, and look at what is happening to our Country now!
The Unselect Committee has refused to acknowledge, as was done by the Biden Inspector General at the Department of Defense, and others, that days ahead of January 6th, I recommended and authorized thousands of troops to be deployed to ensure that that there was peace, safety, and security at the Capitol and throughout the Country. That offer of National Guard was rejected by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Mayor Bowser of Washington, D.C.-the law requires their request, they failed to make one, and in turn failed the Country.
I am proud to file today's lawsuit in order to begin the process of standing up to Fake News and the Mainstream Media.
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