About that Trump lawsuit

So Trump is suing Rupert Murdoch for defamation because of the release of a salacious doodle. Nothing remarkable about Donald J. Trump weaponizing the legal system against his opponents, I know. But there are some things that do bear remark here:

“ . . . he's suing Rupert Murdoch personally. But you know who he's not suing? Lachlan Murdoch, who's actually the chairperson of News Corp and Fox, who's actually the decision-maker. Rupert Murdoch has no official role there anymore. He's an adviser.

 

“So, I thought that was revealing in a lot of ways, because it isn't just about going after the entity. It's sort of this expansion spillover, trying to send as much of a message as you possibly can. He's sort of hitting every potential lever, not just against Murdoch and that empire, but then all the other media properties in the future. It's also about sending an example.”

“HAYES: Yeah. That, to me, is the point here, is that these lawsuits are not lawsuits. They are attempts at intimidation and essentially bribe solicitations. It was true with the lawsuit that was directed at ABC and Disney. It's — I mean, it was really true that CBS lawsuit, which truly was utterly groundless. And this — I mean, unless, you know, unless it turns out to be fabricated, which I don't think it is, this seems utterly groundless as well. But that intimidation factor is a key part of what we're seeing here.”

And this isn’t just the Donald J. Trump, real estate developer. Trump is the POTUS.

“I'm not even sure, like, we've ever had a president sue anyone. I think it's possible it's never happened before in American history. We'll find out. But, like, that is other — it's this story which he's obsessed with, which he wanted to kill, and he wants to send a message, don't do any more Epstein reporting.”

Normally, this suit would be laughed out of court. Trump is about the most public of public figures, and courts have accorded wide latitude to statements about public figures. He’s suing as a private citizen, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s a public figure. What could change is when he tries to appeal this to his personal SCOTUS. It’s an open invitation for the right-wing majority to curtail 1st amendment rights in America. Stay tuned.

https://www.mediamatters.org/msnbc/msnbc-angelo-carusone-explains-how-trump-trying-send-much-message-you-possibly-can-suing-wall

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