Media shifts to more aggressively fight Trump in courts

Several major media companies that have been targeted by litigation from President Trump and top administration officials are fighting back in court, signaling a new era of tension between the president and a press he and his allies view as overly hostile toward him.    

The trend stands in contrast to a string of high-profile settlements and capitulations made by major media companies during the first year of Trump’s second term and could be a sign that more outlets are now willing to devote time and resources to defending themselves in court from the president’s claims.

Trump, in his personal capacity, has sued The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and the BBC within the last year, and several of his top Cabinet secretaries have either threatened to or filed litigation against other media organizations, including The Atlantic and MS NOW.  

Many of these outlets have pushed back forcefully on what they describe as frivolous litigation designed to crack down on the independent press and intimidate journalists.

“I don’t know so much if it’s a shift in posture as it is these media organizations putting the administration to their burden of proving an actual malice standard, which is a really strong protection. So, watching them fight this is important,” said Lisa Zycherman, vice president of legal programs at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. 

“Governments can’t bring libel claims, so these sorts of lawsuits have really been against the norm and that seems to have been majorly disrupted [in the Trump era],” Zycherman said.  

Trump’s suit against the Times, arguably the highest profile of any against a media outlet, stems from its coverage of his reelection bid, which the president’s attorneys argue defamed him.  

Observers have........

© The Hill