Donald Trump goes on the attack of the American media. After obtaining 15 million dollars from Abc Newsthe president-elect filed a lawsuit against the The Des Moines Registera historic local newspaper in Iowa, guilty of having published a poll that put it at a disadvantage compared to its challenger, Kamala Harris.
The news is reported by New York Timesin an article in which he recalls the “numerous legal actions” undertaken by Trump in recent months. “It is clear that Trump is declaring war on the press”, he declared to the Now Samantha Barbas, professor at the University of Iowa Law School. The president-elect “and his lawyers will use every legal action to carry out a vendetta” against the press, Barbas claims.
The 15 million dollars from ABC
If many lawsuits brought by Trump end in nothing, the one against ABC led the American broadcaster owned by Disney to initiate a settlement to avoid going to trial for defamation. ABC agreed to pay the sum of $15 million, as well as $1 million in legal fees. A huge sum that seems to have pushed the president-elect to continue his crusade against the media considered hostile.
The lawsuit against The Des Moines Register and publisher Gannett
In Trump’s sights are the newspaper’s pollster, J. Ann Selzer, and the newspaper’s publisher, Gannett. In the text of the complaint, obtained from Nowthe president-elect’s lawyers accuse her of “blatant election interference” over a poll released shortly before the vote that found Kamala Harris leading Trump by three points in the state of Iowa. Unlike most of Trump’s other lawsuits against the media, accusing him of defamation, in this case the president-elect’s lawyers argue that Selzer violated theIowa Consumer Fraud Actwhich prohibits “deceptive practices” in sales or advertising.
“We believe this lawsuit is without merit,” stressed Lark-Marie Anton, a spokeswoman for The Des Moines Registeradvocating that the survey be accompanied by complete demographic information of respondents, weighted and unweighted tables and data, as well as a technical explanatory framework written by pollster Selzer.
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