Trump Files Lawsuit Against Newspaper Over Alleged “Election Interference”

International News Department 18-12-2024

Former U.S. President-elect Accuses Media of Undermining His Popularity.

Donald Trump, the President-elect of the United States, has initiated legal action against The Des Moines Register and a polling firm, claiming they engaged in deliberate “election interference” by releasing a survey that underestimated his support ahead of the election.

The lawsuit, filed on Monday in Iowa’s Polk County, names The Des Moines Register, its parent company Gannett, and pollster Ann Selzer as defendants. Trump alleges the November 2 poll, which showed him trailing Democratic candidate Kamala Harris by three points in Iowa, was intentionally skewed to misrepresent his popularity. Historically, Trump won the state with significant margins in both the 2016 and 2020 elections. In the most recent election, he secured Iowa by over 13 percentage points.

“Selzer’s inaccurate polling wasn’t a mere coincidence – it was a deliberate act,” the lawsuit states, quoting Trump’s assertion that “she knew exactly what she was doing.” The legal claim invokes Iowa’s consumer fraud law and seeks triple the damages as determined by a jury.

Lark-Marie Anton, a spokesperson for The Des Moines Register, dismissed the lawsuit as meritless, affirming the newspaper’s commitment to its reporting. She highlighted the transparency of the polling process, noting that the outlet had shared detailed demographic data, cross-tabs, and methodologies after the poll was published.

Pollster Ann Selzer, who has faced scrutiny since the poll’s release, expressed confusion over the accusations during a PBS interview, stating she did not manipulate the poll to produce specific outcomes.

This lawsuit follows a recent settlement between Trump and ABC News over a defamation claim involving anchor George Stephanopoulos, who inaccurately stated that Trump had been found civilly liable for rape. Trump is also pursuing legal action against CBS News, accusing the network of deceptively editing an interview with Harris.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, a civil liberties group, has criticized Trump’s lawsuit as an attack on First Amendment protections. “Suing media outlets for publishing polls or stories politicians dislike poses a serious threat to freedom of speech. Getting a poll wrong is not fraud or election interference,” the organization stated.

Given the robust free speech protections in the U.S., Trump faces significant legal challenges in these cases. However, the lawsuits could still place media organizations under pressure by exposing internal communications and requiring journalists and executives to undergo depositions.

While the outcome remains uncertain, the case underscores the tensions between political figures and the media in the increasingly polarized landscape of U.S. politics.