President-elect Donald Trump is already following through on his campaign promise to come after the media even a month out from his inauguration, and some experts believe there is an underlying motivation behind his latest lawsuits.
As the Guardian reported, Trump has been busy during the presidential transition period by launching litigation efforts against various media outlets, with one recent success likely paving the way for future lawsuits. Syracuse University media professor Roy Gutterman – who is the director of the university's Tully Center for Free Speech — told the Guardian that the president-elect's latest legal campaign is more than just a "continuation of Trump's litigiousness."
“The difference, now, is that he secured a settlement and looks like he’s transitioning into an administration with broad support from the other branches of government," he said. "The system of checks and balances inherent to our governing system seems to be tilted.”
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The incoming president is fresh off of securing a $16 million settlement from ABC News, which included $15 million for Trump's future presidential library fund and $1 million for legal fees. Trump sued the outlet for defamation after host George Stephanopoulos said Trump had been found liable for his "rape" of writer E. Jean Carroll (Judge Lewis F. Kaplan later clarified that while Trump's verdict was technically for "sexual abuse," it effectively meant the same thing as "rape" as the public understands the term). Experts are worried that Trump will now feel justified in pursuing legal action against other news organizations.
His recent settlement victory against ABC is particularly concerning, because it may embolden Trump to file any number of similar lawsuits hoping for the same result," said Anna Diakun, who is a staff attorney for the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University.
"Because of this, these suits will have a significant chilling effect on news outlets. Even the threat of legal action may lead some to self-censor, rather than risk retribution," she added. "This is no accident – it appears to be Trump’s goal."
In December, Trump announced he was suing the Des Moines Register and retired pollster J. Ann Selzer over her poll that predicted Vice President Kamala Harris would win Iowa by three points, arguing that the poll constituted "election interference." He eventually won Iowa by a double-digit margin. The Register has said it plans to defend itself in court on First Amendment grounds.
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Click here to read the Guardian's report in its entirety.
