World News | Donald Trump files defamation lawsuit against CNN

Washington [US]Oct. 4 (ANI): Former U.S. President Donald J. Trump sued CNN on Monday (local time), accusing the network of defaming him ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump is seeking more than $475 million in damages.

Also read | A nuclear-armed Russian military train travels, sparking fears of escalation in President Vladimir Putin’s forces (watch video).

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in southern Florida, accuses CNN of trying to use its influence over viewers to spread false statements about Trump in an effort to defeat him politically.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump accused CNN of associating him with Adolf Hitler and portraying him as a Russian lackey and racist. He claims the network has been escalating those efforts recently in anticipation of his possible re-run for president in 2024.

Also read | Afghanistan bombing: 46 girls and women were among the 53 killed in the Kabul education center bombing, the United Nations said.

Notably, throughout his business and political career, Trump has often threatened to sue media outlets for news coverage.

In 2020, his re-election campaign sued The New York Times and The Washington Post over opinion pieces that linked the former U.S. president to Russian interference in U.S. elections, The New York Times reported.

In 2019, Trump threatened to sue CNN over “immoral and illegal attacks.” CNN called the threat a “desperate PR stunt.” According to the New York Times, a suit never materialized.

Meanwhile, the day Trump’s legal team filed a lawsuit against CNN, the former U.S. president threatened legal action against various news outlets and the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

However, The Hill reported that Trump did not specify which other media outlets he plans to sue, but said he would sue them for losing out to President Biden for their “false information” about the 2020 election.

“In the coming weeks and months, we will also file lawsuits against a slew of other fake news media companies for their lies, defamation and wrongdoing, including their often cited ‘big lie’. disinformation attack on the 2019 presidential election,” Trump wrote in a statement cited by The Hill.

The former president said he would not investigate his allegations of election fraud against the Jan. 6 committee.

“The non-select committee refuses to acknowledge that, in the days leading up to January 6, I recommended and authorized the deployment of thousands of soldiers to ensure peace, the Capitol and the entire national safety and security,” Trump added. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)