Trump Officially Sues CNN For Defamation, Seeks $475 Million in Punitive Damages

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Lawyers for former President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit against CNN on Monday, seeking a whopping $475 million in punitive damages for alleged defamation.

The lawsuit claims CNN has carried out a “campaign of libel and slander” against Trump.

The suit filed in U.S. District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, reads:

CNN has sought to use its massive influence— purportedly as a “trusted” news source—to defame the Plaintiff in the minds of its viewers and readers for the purpose of defeating him politically, culminating in CNN claiming credit for “[getting] Trump out” in the 2020 presidential election. CNN’s campaign of dissuasion in the form of libel and slander against the Plaintiff has only escalated in recent months as CNN fears the Plaintiff will run for president in 2024. As a part of its concerted effort to tilt the political balance to the Left, CNN has tried to taint the Plaintiff with a series of ever-more scandalous, false, and defamatory labels of “racist,” “Russian lackey,” “insurrectionist,” and ultimately “Hitler.”

Trump threatened to sue CNN in a lengthy letter in late July demanding the network retract or apologize for reporting he called “defamatory statements.”

The letter shared via his Save America PAC added that Trump “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!”

Monday’s court filing by Trump lawyers included CNN’s response to Trump’s July letter:

CNN has had the opportunity to review your letter of July 21, 2022, and to evaluate your demand to take down and retract the 34 articles and television segments you identify as defamatory, and to cease referring to representations made by former President Trump regarding the outcome of the 2020 presidential election as “lies.” We decline your request.

While we will address the merits of any lawsuit should one be filed, we note that you have not identified a single false or defamatory statement in your letter. It is well-established that the outcome of the 2020 presidential election was unaffected by fraud, as verified by the dismissal of no fewer than 50 lawsuits by judges across the United States asserting otherwise, the sanctioning of multiple attorneys for making unsubstantiated election-fraud claims, and investigations conducted by the Department of Justice, Congress, and various state and local bodies.

CNN additionally agreed to preserve any and all materials for review should a legal battle go forward, a standard requirement in litigation. “As to your preservation demand, we will preserve the relevant materials to the extent required by law,” read CNN’s response as quoted in Monday’s filing. CNN declined to comment on Trump’s court filing.