Legal Threats from President-elect Trump

By Helen Coster and Jack Queen

NEW YORK (Reuters) – President-elect Donald Trump on Monday stepped up his legal threats against news outlets and indicated he would consider suing social media influencers and others for defamation, two days after ABC News settled a lawsuit with him.

“It costs a lot of money to do it, but we have to straighten out the press,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

Some legal experts express concern that Trump's comments and legal actions could chill news coverage of the incoming administration, despite robust legal protections for journalists.

Roy Gutterman, a professor at Syracuse University, highlighted concerns that the erosion of legal protections may deter aggressive news reporting. He noted the ABC settlement as an example of a news organization fearing repercussions from the Trump administration, as high litigation costs likely influenced ABC's decision.

On December 14, Walt Disney-owned ABC News agreed to pay $15 million to Trump’s presidential library to settle a lawsuit over statements made by anchor George Stephanopoulos regarding civil cases brought against Trump by writer E. Jean Carroll, who accused Trump of sexual assault in the 1990s.

Stephanopoulos claimed Trump was found liable for rape; however, a jury found him liable for sexual abuse. New York law distinguishes both offenses. Trump is appealing the jury verdict and a related judge's ruling.

An ABC News spokesperson stated that the network was pleased an agreement was reached to dismiss the lawsuit. As part of the settlement, ABC agreed to publish an editor's note expressing regret over comments made about Trump during the interview.

On Monday, Trump threatened to sue the Des Moines Register over a poll that indicated Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris was leading him in Iowa shortly before Election Day. He described the poll as “a fraud and election interference.” The Des Moines Register defended its reporting, stating the poll did not reflect Trump’s final margin of victory but deemed a lawsuit to be meritless.

Trump also mentioned his existing lawsuit against CBS News over an interview with Harris, seeking $1 billion in damages for alleged deceptive editing. CBS characterized the suit as “completely without merit” and has requested a judge dismiss the case. Trump accused “60 Minutes” of participating in “fraud and election interference.”

Targeting Legal Protections for Journalists

Any lawsuits from Trump would face significant challenges because U.S. law offers strong protections for news coverage of public figures. Established legal precedent requires public figures to prove that defendants acted with “actual malice,” a challenging standard to meet.

Trump has suggested that this legal standard should change, and some U.S. Supreme Court justices have indicated a readiness to reconsider it. However, Boston School of Law professor Jeffrey Pyle affirmed that the standard remains one of the strongest in the world.

Even unsuccessful lawsuits by Trump could trouble news organizations by publicly revealing internal communications and subjecting journalists and executives to depositions. Legal experts noted that ABC could have won the lawsuit due to the innocent nature of Stephanopoulos' comments, which would not meet the reckless disregard threshold Trump must prove.

A judge had previously denied ABC's motion to dismiss, rejecting the network’s claim of broad protection under Florida laws for accurate reporting on government information. This ruling addressed initial legal issues but did not ensure a victory for Trump ultimately.