Court Upholds Junking of Trump Defamation Suit vs CNN

A U.S. federal appeals court has upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit Donald Trump filed against CNN for describing his claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen as the “Big Lie,” Agence France-Presse reported.

“Trump has not adequately alleged the falsity of CNN’s statements,” the panel said. (Photo: Ken Lund Flickr)

Words

District Court Judge Raag Singhal, who was appointed by Trump during his first term in the White House, tossed out his $475 million suit against CNN in July 2023.

Trump, in the suit filed in a Florida district court, alleged that CNN’s use of the phrase “Big Lie” associated him with tactics used by Adolf Hitler.

The network’s use of the term, he said, was a “deliberate effort by CNN to propagate to its audience an association between the plaintiff and one of the most repugnant figures in modern history.”

In her ruling, Singhal said “the complained-of statements are opinion, not factually false statements, and therefore are not actionable.”

A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed.

“Trump has not adequately alleged the falsity of CNN’s statements,” the panel — which included two judges appointed by Trump — said. “Therefore, he has failed to state a defamation claim.”

Trump, who returned to the White House in January after winning the November 2024 election, continues to insist falsely that he won the 2020 presidential vote against Democrat Joe Biden, in which he lost by 7.5 million votes.