Trump launches new assault on the free press

[superchuck500]

Interesting for a man who professes to be a "Lover of the Constitution". And let's be clear about this - Donald Trump knows that this lawsuit will fail based on the First Amendment . . . this is nothing more than an intimidation tactic (and strongly reflective of malignant narcissism).

So, on the theory of "election interference" - which isn't actually a private cause of action - and an Iowa consumer fraud statute, Trump has sued the Des Moines Register and its well-known pollster/poll-expert Ann Selzer for publishing her polling analysis that showed Harris leading Trump in Iowa. Trump has been stating for weeks now that he intends to file other suits against the press and even stating that some members of the press should be prosecuted for crimes.

Many states have an "anti-SLAPP" law that allows for defamation defendants to recover attorneys fees (100% and sometimes more) where it it ruled that the plaintiff had no legitimate case and used the lawsuit to try to intimidate the speaker from free exercise of speech regarding the plaintiff. Iowa has no such law. I don't have the lawsuit yet because the press remains wildly incompetent about covering legal matters and it isn't available on the Iowa courts site yet.

President-elect Trump sued the Des Moines Register and pollster J. Ann Selzer on Monday over a poll released just before Election Day indicating Vice President Harris had a sizable lead in Iowa.

The poll found Harris leading Trump in Iowa by 3 percentage points days before Trump won the state by 14 percentage points as voters sent him back to the White House.

Trump’s lawsuit, which was filed in Iowa state court in Polk County, accuses the outlet and pollster of violating Iowa’s consumer fraud laws by engaging in deception.

“Selzer’s polling ‘miss’ was not an astonishing coincidence — it was intentional,” the complaint states.

The lawsuit asks for an unspecified amount of damages and an order preventing the pollster from “releasing any further deceptive polls” and compelling them to disclose information they relied upon in publishing the November survey.

Trump sues Des Moines Register, top pollster for 'brazen election interference,' fraud over Harris poll

FIRST ON FOX: President-elect Donald Trump is suing the Des Moines Register and its top pollster Ann Selzer for “brazen election interference" and fraud over its final 2024 presidential poll showing Vice President Kamala Harris leading him in Iowa, despite his ultimate victory in the state by...

www.foxnews.com

 

[MT15]

They can’t stand anyone who will expose their lies. Like all authoritarians everywhere.