Throughout his time in politics, Donald Trump has often complained about journalists and authors who write unflattering things about him. Occasionally, he has filed cease-and-desist letters to block the publication of books, which has never succeeded, although he did settle a lawsuit against ABC News and Disney over the wording of a question from George Stephanopoulos about the E. Jean Carroll case and has other similar lawsuits pending against other outlets.
In his second term, Trump has already sought to ban the Associated Press from the White House briefing room while also having the White House take over some authority over which outlets have access to the White House.
This week, Trump indicated that more such suits are coming.
“Quite naturally, here come the Fake books and stories with the so-called ‘anonymous,’ or ‘off the record.’ quotes,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday. “At some point I am going to sue some of these dishonest authors and book publishers, or even media in general, to find out whether or not these ‘anonymous sources’ even exist, which they largely do not.”
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“They are made up, defamatory fiction, and a big price should be paid for this blatant dishonesty. I’ll do it as a service to our Country. Who knows, maybe we will create some NICE NEW LAW!!!,” Trump continued.
This was likely a shot at author Michael Wolff, who has a new book out called “All or Nothing: How Trump Recaptured America” from which various negative stories about Trump have surfaced in the media in recent weeks, ahead of its official release yesterday. It’s the fourth book Wolff wrote about Trump, and the first was “Fire and Fury,” which arrived early in Trump’s first term and got similar media attention.
That first book involved Wolff having inside access in the first month of Trump’s first presidency, creating the impression that he was writing a positive biography and then doing the exact opposite. Trump’s lawyers had filed a cease-and-desist to block the publication of “Fire and Fury,” but the book was published as scheduled.
The reference to a “nice new law” appears to refer to efforts on the right to overturn New York Times v. Sullivan, a Supreme Court case from 1964 that established protections for journalists against libel laws. Casino mogul Steve Wynn, a Trump pal and former RNC finance chairman, is currently a plaintiff in a case aimed at possibly overturning Sullivan.
Photo courtesy of the Political Tribune media library.
