President-elect Donald Trump filed a lawsuit on Friday, vowing to bring justice to his name after years of attacks from the mainstream media.
The incoming 47th president announced he is suing several media outlets, including the New York Times, CBS News, Penguin Random House, and the Daily Beast, alleging widespread bias and defamation. Trump’s lawyer, Edward Andrew Paltzik, demands $10 billion in damages for publishing defamatory material.
In the lawsuit, Trump accused the mainstream media of “defaming and disparaging” him during coverage of the election and making “false and defamatory statements.”
The NYT was at the center of the lawsuit. In the 19-page filing, Trump’s lawyers wrote that the newspaper has been “a full-throated mouthpiece of the Democratic party” that engages in “industrial-scale libel against political opponents.” They also accused the publication of having “every intention of defaming and disparaging the world-renowned Trump brand that consumers have long associated with excellence, luxury, and success in entertainment, hospitality, and real estate, among many other industries, as well as falsely and maliciously defaming and disparaging him as a candidate for the highest office in the United States.”
The lawsuit specifically mentions the work written by journalists Peter Baker, Michael S. Schmidt, Susanne Craig, and Russ Buettner, including a book titled Lucky Loser: How Donald Trump Squandered His Father’s Fortune and Created the Illusion of Success. Another headline was “As Election Nears, Kelly Warns Trump Would Rule Like a Dictator.”
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The New York Times denied the claims, insisting its reporting has been accurate and evidence-based. CBS News also brushed off the allegations, dismissing the lawsuit as “completely without merit.” The Washington Post called the claims “improper” and “baseless.” Penguin Random House also stood by their reporting.
Critics claim the lawsuits incite attacks on press freedom, raising concerns about the future of the media.
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