Here we go again. It has doubtlessly been called to Trump’s attention any number of times that Jeff Sessions is not his personal attorney and that the Justice Department does not exist to persecute prosecute his political enemies.
Jeff Mason is the White House Correspondent for Reuters.
.@realDonaldTrump tells reporters he wants Attorney General Sessions to investigate who wrote @nytimes op-ed
— Jeff Mason (@jeffmason1) September 7, 2018
Trump tells reporters on Air Force One he is looking into taking action against the @nytimes. “We’re going to see. I’m looking at that right now,” he says, per @steveholland1
— Jeff Mason (@jeffmason1) September 7, 2018
Trump actually thinks has a case.
Isn’t it a shame that someone can write an article or book, totally make up stories and form a picture of a person that is literally the exact opposite of the fact, and get away with it without retribution or cost. Don’t know why Washington politicians don’t change libel laws?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 5, 2018
“The president’s tweet clearly assumes a situation where two things are the case,” said Leonard M. Niehoff, a University of Michigan law professor. “First, that the person has ‘totally’ and intentionally ‘made the information up’ — it’s not an instance of a mistake but of deliberate fabrication. And second, that the statement made is one of ‘fact’ and so is capable of being proved true or false, rather than being an opinion or a belief.”
Given this scenario, Niehoff said, the law of defamation gives the aggrieved party a claim.
“Even under the highly protective standard of New York Times vs. Sullivan, a public official or figure would have a claim under these circumstances because this meets the test for ‘actual malice,’” Niehoff said. “So to the extent that the president is describing the state of the law, he is simply and objectively wrong.”
This is just a repetition of the noise he was making back in January after Michael Cohen sued BuzzFeed over publication of the Steele dossier, before Cohen’s fortunes significantly changed for the worst.
“We are going to take a strong look at our country’s libel laws, so that when somebody says something that is false and defamatory about someone, that person will have meaningful recourse in our courts,” Mr. Trump said during a public portion of a cabinet meeting in the White House.
The president added, “Our current libel laws are a sham and a disgrace and do not represent American values or American fairness.”
Same response.
First Amendment lawyers were quick to point out that Mr. Trump has little power to modify those laws, barring a Supreme Court appeal or constitutional amendment. Other libel laws are determined at the state level, where Mr. Trump, as president, has no direct influence.
“President Trump’s threat to revise our country’s libel laws is, frankly, not credible,” the American Civil Liberties Union said in a statement on Wednesday.
Different day, same stupid argument, same non comprehension of basic law. Donald Trump is not teachable. He’s stick stone stupid.
