Trump's latest assault on the free press will have its day in court in Florida
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A Florida judge will preside over President Donald Trump’s latest lawsuit against the news media in which he claims The New York Times’ endorsement in the last presidential election was “deranged.”
Trump also claims he was defamed by several reporters and the book publisher Penguin Random House. Trump is asking for $15 billion in damages.
In his lawsuit, Trump claims that the newspaper, the writers, and the book publisher timed the publication of articles “at the height of election season to inflict maximum electoral damage against President Trump.”
The Times notes in today’s editions:
The lawsuit against The Times is the latest in a series of legal actions taken by Mr. Trump against news outlets. He sued over the editing of a report on the CBS News program “60 Minutes,” resulting in a $16 million settlement with the network’s parent company, Paramount, in July. Last year, ABC News agreed to settle a defamation suit brought by Mr. Trump for $15 million, plus $1 million for his legal fees, over remarks made in an interview by the anchor George Stephanopoulos.
President Trump also sued The Wall Street Journal in July for an article that stated that he had sent a lewd birthday greeting to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein in 2003.
Trump has sued The Times before. In 2021, he filed a complaint after the newspaper wrote stories investigating his finances and tax records. The suit was dismissed, and Trump was ordered to pay the paper’s legal fees. Another lawsuit was also dismissed in 2021.
In his latest suit, Trump claims the newspaper has published articles, dating back to his first term, that “maliciously and falsely portray him as dishonest, erode public trust in him and tear down his achievements.” He claimed the newspaper’s reasoning in its endorsement for Vice President Kamala Harris was “deranged.”
Said the newspaper in response:
“This lawsuit has no merit. It lacks any legitimate legal claims and instead is an attempt to stifle and discourage independent reporting. The New York Times will not be deterred by intimidation tactics. We will continue to pursue the facts without fear or favor and stand up for journalists’ First Amendment right to ask questions on behalf of the American people.”
The case was filed in Florida, where Trump has established his legal residence in Palm Beach County. It has been assigned to Judge Steven D. Merryday of Tampa. Merryday, a University of Florida law school graduate, was appointed to the federal bench by another Republican president, George H.W. Bush, in 1992.
Any thoughts on Trump’s latest ploy to silence his critics? You can share them here:
So much for the Free State of Florida
Charlie Kirk was a free speech advocate. His provocative, sometimes hateful, rhetoric would have been banned in other parts of the world that don’t enjoy the rights of open expression enshrined in the Constitution’s First Amendment.
So, it is weird, hypocritical, actually, that the State of Florida is targeting Kirk’s critics for exercising those same rights of free expression that Kirk enjoyed. Is this how the right wing wants to remember him, through censorship?
I’ve written about that in previous newsletters, and now Jay Waagmeester of the Florida Phoenix brings us up to date:
Floridians will be squeezed
Paradise Progressive’s David Silverberg warns us that coffee and orange juice prices are may go up thanks to Trump’s punitive tariffs on Brazilian imports driven by his support for Brazil’s former president, who plotted a military coup to overthrow the government. Jair Bolsonaro hid out in Orlando for a while after he lost his re-election bid. Now he’s headed for jail, and we are going to pay the price. Check out David Silverberg’s thoughtful, detailed analysis here:
What color holster to wear?
Miss Mingo answers the questions we’re all dying to ask. In her next column, she addresses the pressing fashion issue: Should the color of a woman’s shoulder holster match her Jimmy Choos? How will styles change in the wake of Florida’s new open-carry rules? Miss Mingo tells all this Saturday.
‘Extrajudicial Killings’ and Epstein
The U.S. House Armed Services Committee is meeting in secret today to be briefed on Trump’s recent actions blowing boats out of international waters in the Caribbean under the rationale that they were smuggling drugs. Two Florida congresspersons will sit in on the meeting, both Republicans, Carlos Gimenez and Cory Mills.
Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz had this to say about it:
“These extrajudicial killings off the coast of Venezuela are lawless, performative attempts to avoid looking weak and distract from Trump's oil money giveaways to Maduro to accelerate mass deportations. It’s not working. It’s all designed to make Trump look tough while he caves to another Putin-backed despot.”
It also serves as a handy distraction from Trump’s roadblocking the release of the Epstein Files, which, as this was written, is still one vote shy of the number needed to force a vote in the House.
A “discharge petition” is being circulated on a bill that would require the Justice Department to release the Epstein files within 30 days. With just one more signature, the petition will be forced to the floor of the House for a vote. So far, no Florida Republicans have signed the petition.
Dodging the storms
The New York Times has offered guidance to tourists on beaches they can flock to this time of year to avoid hurricanes. To no surprise, none of them are in Florida.
It comes at a timely moment as Tropical Storm Gabrielle is expected to form in the Atlantic today, and another system is following closely behind it.
What are those beaches? The list begins with the ABC islands:
Aruba, Bonaire, and Curaçao, often collectively called the ABCs, sit off the coast of Venezuela, far enough south in the Caribbean Sea that hurricanes almost never reach them.
Although, as noted earlier in this newsletter, if you happen to be boating off the coast of Venezuela, watch out for American gunboats.
Costa Rica and Panama also make the list, as do beaches in California and Hawaii.
J.C. Bruce, journalist and author, is the founder of Tropic Press. He holds dual citizenship in the United States of America and his native Florida. Forward this email to your friends. They will love you for it.
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It is simply as you say, a ploy to silence his critics. He is a very insecure and small man, in multiple ways. The media outlets, universities, and attorneys who have acquiesced and paid him off are a disgrace.
It is what he does, he sues. Hopefully, the NYT will not bow to his suits since they are the truth. Hopefully, it is a decent judge and not the stupid one in Miami that headed off the Justice system case.