US former president Donald Trump has sued CNN for defamation, claiming the cable news network has escalated a campaign of libel and slander against him recently because it fears he will run for re-election in 2024.
CNN has attempted to taint Trump “with a series of ever-more scandalous, false, and defamatory labels of ‘racist’, ‘Russian lackey’, ‘insurrectionist’, and ultimately ‘Hitler’,” the former president’s lawyers said in the suit filed on Monday in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Trump is seeking at least $475m in damages, according to the filing.
“Beyond simply highlighting any negative information about the plaintiff and ignoring all positive information about him, 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,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.
CNN didn’t immediately respond to an email requesting comment on the lawsuit.
Trump hasn’t shied away from suing his perceived enemies since leaving office, though he’s had limited success. His lawsuit accusing his 2016 election rival Hillary Clinton and dozens of others of conspiring against him with allegedly fake Russia claims was tossed out by a federal judge in Florida last month.
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