Former President Donald Trump is suing CNN for $475 million in damages due to the network’s incessant denigration of his name. The lawsuit filed in Florida focuses mainly on “The Big Lie” regarding Trump’s 2020 election claims. Trump’s team claims CNN has used the phrase more than 7,700 times since January 2021 and contains “Nazi connotations.” Trump has suggested similar lawsuits will be filed against other news organizations in the coming months.
AP: Trump files $475 million defamation lawsuit against CNN
October 4, 2022
NEW YORK (AP) — Former President Donald Trump on Monday sued CNN, seeking $475 million in damages, saying the network had defamed him in an effort to short-circuit any future political campaign.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, focuses primarily on the term “The Big Lie” about Trump’s false claims of widespread fraud that he says cost him the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden.
CNN said it had no comment on the lawsuit.
Trump repeatedly attacked CNN as president, which resonated with his conservative followers. He has similarly filed lawsuits against big tech companies with little success. His case against Twitter for knocking him off its platform following the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol insurrection was thrown out by a California judge earlier this year.
Numerous federal and local election officials in both parties, a long list of courts, top former campaign staffers and even Trump’s own attorney general have all said there is no evidence of the election fraud he alleges.
Trump’s lawsuit claims “The Big Lie,” a phrase with Nazi connotations, has been used in reference to him more than 7,700 times on CNN since January 2021.
“It is intended to aggravate, scare and trigger people,” he said.
Photo: Chris Seward/AP Photo