On Monday, former US president Donald Trump filed a defamation lawsuit against CNN, alleging that the network had engaged in a “campaign of libel and slander” against him and sought $475 million in punitive damages.
In his complaint, Trump alleges that CNN utilised its tremendous power as a preeminent news outlet to undermine him politically. The case was filed in US District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
CNN chose not to comment on the situation.
Republican Trump says in the 29-page complaint that despite CNN’s lengthy history of attacking him, it has intensified these assaults in recent months because of concern that he would seek the presidency again in 2024.
The complaint asserts that CNN endeavoured to tar the plaintiff with a succession of scandalous, false, and defamatory labels, including “racist,” “Russian lackey,” “insurrectionist,” and eventually “Hitler,” as part of its determined effort to tip the political balance to the left.
A January 2022 special report by anchor Fareed Zakaria that used video of the German dictator is one of the occasions cited in the complaint when CNN appeared to equate Trump to Hitler.
Trump has not said if he will run for re-election. He lost the 2020 race to Democrat Joe Biden.
The 76-year-old former president is currently the target of a criminal investigation by the US Justice Department for keeping official documents at his Florida residence Mar-a-Lago after leaving office in January 2021.
Leticia James, the attorney general for the state of New York, filed a lawsuit against Trump last month, alleging that he had misled banks and insurance companies about the worth of his properties.
Additionally, a legislative committee is looking into the assault on the US Capitol by Trump supporters on January 6, 2021, with an emphasis on the former president’s involvement in the incident.
