donald trump He promised to prosecute his political opponents if he retakes the White House. He plans to remove the firewall that has traditionally existed between the White House and the Justice Department and use federal prosecutors to do his political dirty work.
But Trump isn’t waiting until Inauguration Day or even Election Day for something similar to happen. His first target is the press. In the past 24 hours, Trump has filed legal action against two media outlets for frivolous allegations. It may not matter whether you succeed or not. Because if he wins, it’s a warning opportunity for what’s to come.
Media organizations are well aware of the dangers of crossing Trump, and some are already showing signs of backing down.
On Thursday, Trump sued CBS News over its October “60 Minutes” interview with Vice President Kamala Harris. In the lawsuit, Trump claimed that he edited the interview to make Harris look good, which constituted election interference. “To cover up Kamala’s ‘word salad’ weaknesses, CBS used the national platform of 60 Minutes to cross the line from an exercise in reporting judgment to deceptive and deceptive manipulation of the news,” the complaint alleges. They are demanding $100 million in damages.
According to experts, the lawsuit is legally absurd. “This is outrageous garbage and should be ridiculed,” Harvard professor Rebecca Tushnet told CNN. But the fact that it was filed in Amarillo, Texas, is a sign that Trump wants to do business. The only logical reason to file a lawsuit in this area is to secure a friendly judge, a practice known as judge shopping. And the only federal judge in Amarillo is Matthew Kacsmaryk, one of the most ideologically driven conservative judges in the country. Kacsmaryk has shown a willingness to go beyond the law to pursue cases he agrees with. Most famously, it skirted long-held legal principles to block FDA approval of the abortion drug Mifepristone. (The Supreme Court overruled him.)
There is also a political reason for filing this lawsuit after President Trump publicly complained about CBS’ editing of the interview. Being able to point to lawsuits alleging media bias furthers his argument to supporters that the media is the enemy and working for the other side.
It’s one thing for Trump to sue CBS as a citizen. But if he wins, Trump could force the Justice Department to file these kinds of lawsuits. This is a warning to the media that any reporting Trump deems unfavorable, including interviews with his rivals, could end up in court on the other side of the U.S. government.
Media organizations are well aware of the dangers of crossing Trump, and some are already showing signs of backing down. Exhibit A is a last minute decision made by billionaires who own real estate. washington post and Los Angeles Times Paper editor blocks last-minute endorsement of Harris. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos mailIt holds billions of dollars in government contracts that could be revoked in retaliation under a Trump presidency.
Trump is already targeting: mail. On Thursday, the campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging it paid to promote articles critical of Trump. washington post Contributions were made illegally to the Harris campaign. Clearly, Bezos’ decision not to endorse Harris did not appease Trump.
These attacks are mail CBS should sound the alarm. They also follow Trump’s efforts to punish CNN’s coverage during his first term and his repeated calls for all major television networks to be stripped of their broadcasting licenses. It’s unclear whether Trump can pull off such a feat. First of all, because the local affiliate holds the license. But the message Trump is broadcasting is being heard loud and clear. If Trump wins, he will retaliate against the media.
In fact, he has already started.
