A few days ago, we told you how ABC News settled a lawsuit with president-elect Donald Trump to the tune of $15 million. The settlement was to avoid going to trial in a defamation suit Trump filed against the network and anchor George Stephanopoulos after the latter said -- repeatedly -- Trump was 'found liable for rape' (he was not).
A couple of days later, Trump said he's planning to sue both Iowa pollster Ann Selzer and CBS/'60 Minutes'; suits that might prove difficult to win (but that's a topic for another post).
Either way, the media are clutching all the pearls about the lawsuits and actually being held accountable for lying and defaming Trump.
Politico wants us to know the free press is bracing for an onslaught of lawsuits:
As Trump sues, the free press braces https://t.co/cMv2gYXdIk
— POLITICO (@politico) December 17, 2024
They write (emphasis added):
Media lawyers are bracing for an onslaught of lawsuits from Donald Trump and his political allies in the wake of ABC’s decision to pay $16 million to settle a defamation case Trump filed against the network.
Many First Amendment advocates see the settlement as a capitulation by ABC that handed Trump both a lucrative victory and a legal roadmap. They worry it will embolden him to escalate his use of private civil litigation against his media critics when he returns to power next month.
These private lawsuits would be separate from anything Trump does as president to deploy official levers of power against the press. And even if the lawsuits lack merit, they can still have a chilling effect.
Do these people not understand the law? ABC News and Stephanopoulos reported factually incorrect information to smear Trump.
You can't do that.
It's not 'capitulation' on the part of ABC News -- it's an admission Trump had them dead to rights on this suit and the deposition of George Stephanopoulos would've been even MORE damaging.
Or are the people complaining about ABC settling saying they would've preferred a trial that ended with ABC paying Trump tens of millions of dollars more than $15 million?
Oh for Pete's sakes...WAH WAH cry more...you have trafficked in supporting Democrats and taking their selective leaks for decades and the American working class has no faith in you, couldn't care less about your fate and has more faith in X...it's glorious it finally happened.
— TopSecretK9 (@TopIsMyNamek9) December 18, 2024
It's all self-inflicted.
And richly deserved.
You're not the free press. You are the mouthpiece of the DNC which means you are a propaganda outlet just like ABC, NBC, CBS, New York Times, Washington Post, Huff Post, LA Times, The Hill etc....
— Feisty Renegade 🗣🙀🙏⚓ (@MsRobotoFL) December 18, 2024
Bingo. They're nothing more than the propaganda arm of the Democratic Party.
Everyone will receive a fair trial.
— @amuse (@amuse) December 17, 2024
No one is above the law and all that.
"the free press". Y'all abandoned that in the name of progressivism.
— Gambare (@d3navy) December 18, 2024
We all see it now and have no problem with you facing legal consequences.
There isn't a tenet of journalistic ethics or integrity they didn't jettison to smear Trump
Give it a freaking break https://t.co/BTA3oBWV69
— Ron Coleman (@RonColeman) December 18, 2024
No, no.
They need to keep going. Really dig themselves a deeper hole.
Please think of the brave firefighters https://t.co/KrLRHoPxrn
— Blue Shift Blog (@BlueShiftBlog) December 18, 2024
Won't someone please think of them?
How is the corporate pass free?
— BrillCommentariat (@BrillComment) December 18, 2024
It won't go against left wing orthodoxy or against the woke billionaires that own them. https://t.co/smGgt41sB3
Excellent question.
We all saw that when certain papers refused to endorse Kamala Harris before the election.
You aren’t the “free press.”
— Yankee McKenna (@YankeeMckenna) December 18, 2024
You’re an amalgamation of entirely unethical entertainment networks that all describe themselves as “trustworthy news.” https://t.co/j8zMyI3NXG
Nailed it.
And no one trusts the media anymore.
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