Federal appeals court rejects Trump’s ‘meritless’ case against CNN

A federal appeals court has rejected President Donald Trump’s attempt to revive a defamation lawsuit against CNN, calling his arguments “meritless.”

The 2022 suit objected to CNN’s use of the phrase “the big lie” in reference to the president’s lies about the 2020 election being “stolen.”

On Tuesday, a three-judge appellate panel affirmed a Florida judge’s 2023 ruling that said Trump failed to prove “falsity,” a necessary element to demonstrate that someone has been defamed.

Trump’s conduct — when he lost the 2020 election but claimed he won, and attempted to stay in power — is “susceptible to multiple subjective interpretations, including CNN’s,” the judges wrote. Thus, it is “not readily capable of being proven true or false.”

Judges Kevin Newsom and Elizabeth Branch, who were appointed by Trump, and Judge Adalberto Jordan, who was appointed by Barack Obama, wrote that “Trump’s other arguments are likewise meritless.”

A spokesperson for CNN declined to comment on the ruling.

The appeals court decision reaffirms that American news outlets tend to prevail when they stand their ground rather than settle out of court with Trump.

Settlement deals between Trump and major media companies like Disney and Paramount have drawn widespread criticism over the past year.