Trump Threatens to Sue CNN For Defamation Over His 2020 Election Crusade, Vows More Lawsuits to Come

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Former President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday he is planning to sue CNN “over their repeated defamatory statements against me” unless they apologize, retract or correct their coverage of him.

Trump added that he “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 2020 Election. I will never stop fighting for the truth and for the future of our Country!”

Trump made the announcement in a statement via his Save America PAC and included a letter from the law firm Ifrah Law.

The letter titled, “Notice of Intent to Bring Civil Action for Defamation,” is addressed to Chris Licht, CNN Chief Executive Officer, and David Vigilante, CNN Executive Vice President and General Counsel.

Trump is known for being litigious and has often threatened lawsuits against critics, which never materialize. Trump, notably, also threatened to sue the New York Times in 2016 ahead of the election.

It is unclear what grounds Trump would have to sue CNN or other media outlets over claims regarding the 2020 presidential election, which have been debunked by various government agencies and investigations — including by Trump’s own attorney general. 

The letter reads:

Pursuant to Florida Statute §770.01, this letter serves as formal notice of the false statements about President Donald J. Trump (“President Trump”) in numerous articles and televised transmissions published by Cable News Network, Inc. (“CNN”) including, but not limited to, those discussed below.

Trump then asks for CNN to either correct, retract or apologize for numerous articles, which are listed in the document:

In accordance with Florida Statute § 770.02, CNN must publish a full and fair correction, apology, or retraction, in the same editions or corresponding issues of the website publication in which the aforementioned articles, transcripts, or broadcasts appeared and in as conspicuous a place and type as said original article, transcript or broadcast within ten (10) days from the date of service of this notice.

Failure to publish such a correction, apology, or retraction will result in the filing of a lawsuit and damages being sought against you, CNN.

The letter goes through a list of complaints with CNN’s coverage of Trump and at one point declares, “Questions About Election Integrity Are Not Baseless.”

“Well after the election process and associated litigation has died down, information continues to be gathered that suggests there were unusual problems with the 2020 election,” reads the letter, which goes on to cite Dinesh D’Souza’s roundly debunked election conspiracy film 2000 Mules as evidence.