Trump targets NYT with new legal threat over CBS News lawsuit coverage
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President Trump walks on the South Lawn of the White House after arriving on Marine One in Washington, D.C., on April 29. Photo: Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images
President Trump on Wednesday said the New York Times should be held liable for "interference" in his ongoing lawsuit against CBS News.
Why it matters: The threat is the latest Trump has made against a news outlet whose coverage he dislikes or disagrees with, and the Times quickly pushed back on it.
- "It's fair to criticize the press, but the latent threat of weaponizing lawsuits to chill them is alarming from a constitutional perspective," Lyrissa Lidsky, a media law professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, said.
Driving the news: Trump sued CBS in October, alleging that CBS engaged in "voter interference" in its editing of a "60 Minutes" interview with former Vice President Harris during the presidential campaign.
- CBS argued that the case should be dismissed for a lack of personal and subject-matter jurisdiction, but lawyers for its parent company Paramount and Trump began mediation on Wednesday.
- "Legal experts have called the suit baseless and an easy victory for CBS," the New York Times said in a Tuesday story about the negotiations. "But Paramount is entering the talks prepared to make a deal."
In a Truth Social post Wednesday, Trump wrote: "The Times should also be on the hook for their likely unlawful behavior."
- He said his legal team was studying potential electoral interference from the NYT.
Reality check: Trump's team would have to prove that the NYT had "intent to interfere" with its reporting, said Craig Delsack, a New York-based media and business lawyer.
- "That's a hard burden to prove," he added.
- Sonja West, a First Amendment Law professor at the University of Georgia School of Law, said: "The mere fact that the president doesn't like a news story does not make it illegal.
- "The First Amendment protects the right of the press to accurately report information that is critical of powerful people, especially the president of the United States."
What they're saying: "President Trump's post today follows a long list of legal threats aimed at discouraging or penalizing independent reporting about the administration," a New York Times spokesperson said in a statement.
- "The law is clear and protects a strong free press and favors an informed American public. The New York Times will not be deterred by the administration's intimidation tactics."
The big picture: Trump sued several news outlets before taking office, and he has repeatedly criticized coverage of his administration, campaigns and legal cases.
- ABC News last year settled a lawsuit for $15 million, plus $1 million in legal fees over comments by anchor George Stephanopoulos.
- It was one of the biggest settlements any media company has struck with a sitting or former president.
Go deeper: Trump's historic war on traditional media
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional statements.
