Brian Stelter Reacts to Trump Campaign’s Lawsuit Against CNN, Other Outlets: ‘Are These Just Publicity Stunts?’

CNN’s Brian Stelter closed out his show on Sunday by reacting to the libel lawsuit President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign filed against his network.

The Trump campaign is already facing an uphill battle with their attempt to sue The New York Times over an opinion piece, but on Friday, the campaign sued CNN over another op-ed which argued that Robert Mueller should’ve charged Trump’s team for soliciting foreign dirt. As Stelter reacted to this, he noted how most legal experts agree the Trump campaign’s lawsuits “are going nowhere,” so he asked “what’s the motivation?”

“Does he truly feel defamed or are these just publicity stunts? In the case of the lawsuit on CNN, Fox News was tipped off in advance, and Sean Hannity gave it lots of attention. So maybe it was just about making Trump look like a fighter and making the news outlets spend money getting the suits thrown out. Then, of course, the campaign can attack the courts and the media. These suits will likely linger throughout the campaign season, giving Trump a recurring and convenient line of attack.”

From there, Stelter invoked the argument that Trump’s lawsuits are an attempt to discourage dissent by raising the the threat of lawsuits. He eventually reasons that the lawsuits were either done to “appease Trump” or they’re an attempt to reach the Supreme Court and change libel laws.

“We’ll see what happens,” Stelter said. “We’ll keep track of it. We’ll keep covering this court action because that’s what the press does, even while being sued.”

Watch above, via CNN.

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