President Donald Trump doesn’t like anyone asking too many questions about the Iran strikes he unilaterally authorized. In fact, when news outlets report that the bombings were not as destructive as Trump initially boasted, he (and other members of his administration) lashed out at members of the media. On Truth Social, he called out journalists from CNN and the New York Times as “fake news reporters” who are “bad people with evil intentions.”
But that wasn’t the end of Trump’s tantrum. His personal attorney Alejandro Brito sent letters to the NYT and CNN, full of legal bluster. The missives demand they “retract and apologize” the reporting for “false,” “defamatory,” and “unpatriotic” reporting, First Amendment be damned!
The Fourth Estate is more functional than Biglaw, so in the face of these threats, the outlets responded with stinging rebukes.
David McCraw, the lawyer for the Times replied, “No retraction is needed.” He continued, “No apology will be forthcoming. We told the truth to the best of our ability. We will continue to do so.”
And CNN’s statement was a bit less forceful, but still defended their reporting.
“CNN’s reporting made clear that this was an initial finding that could change with additional intelligence. We have extensively covered President Trump’s own deep skepticism about it,” said CNN’s statement. “However, we do not believe it is reasonable to criticize CNN reporters for accurately reporting the existence of the assessment and accurately characterizing its findings, which are in the public interest.”
At least someone is still defending the Constitution.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @Kathryn1@mastodon.social.
The post MAGA Attorney Threatens To Sue Journalists Over ‘Unpatriotic’ Reporting; Gets The Exact Response He Deserves appeared first on Above the Law.
President Donald Trump doesn’t like anyone asking too many questions about the Iran strikes he unilaterally authorized. In fact, when news outlets report that the bombings were not as destructive as Trump initially boasted, he (and other members of his administration) lashed out at members of the media. On Truth Social, he called out journalists from CNN and the New York Times as “fake news reporters” who are “bad people with evil intentions.”
But that wasn’t the end of Trump’s tantrum. His personal attorney Alejandro Brito sent letters to the NYT and CNN, full of legal bluster. The missives demand they “retract and apologize” the reporting for “false,” “defamatory,” and “unpatriotic” reporting, First Amendment be damned!
The Fourth Estate is more functional than Biglaw, so in the face of these threats, the outlets responded with stinging rebukes.
David McCraw, the lawyer for the Times replied, “No retraction is needed.” He continued, “No apology will be forthcoming. We told the truth to the best of our ability. We will continue to do so.”
And CNN’s statement was a bit less forceful, but still defended their reporting.
“CNN’s reporting made clear that this was an initial finding that could change with additional intelligence. We have extensively covered President Trump’s own deep skepticism about it,” said CNN’s statement. “However, we do not believe it is reasonable to criticize CNN reporters for accurately reporting the existence of the assessment and accurately characterizing its findings, which are in the public interest.”
At least someone is still defending the Constitution.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].
