Media Lawsuits
Former President Donald Trump has made a habit of suing news outlets, journalists, and even pollsters for defamation, in what many see as an attempt to intimidate the press and silence dissent. His legal targets have included major publications like The New York Times, CNN, and The Washington Post, as well as individual reporters who have covered his actions critically. Trump has also extended these lawsuits to pollsters whose unfavorable results he claims are intentionally misleading. While he wages legal battles against the free press, much of the media has simultaneously been criticized for "sanewashing" his increasingly authoritarian rhetoric and actions—normalizing dangerous anti-democratic behavior by framing it as part of conventional political discourse. This dual strategy of legal aggression and media manipulation underscores a broader effort to control the narrative and stifle accountability.
Trump sued ABC for saying he is a rapist.
In December 2024, President-elect Donald Trump reached a $15 million defamation settlement with ABC News over comments made by anchor George Stephanopoulos. The dispute centered on Stephanopoulos incorrectly stating that Trump had been found liable for rape in a civil case, when the jury had actually found him liable for sexual abuse, not rape, under New York law. Though legal experts say Trump’s case had a high bar to clear due to his public figure status, ABC chose to settle rather than risk a prolonged legal battle, especially with Trump returning to power.
Media law experts noted that while Stephanopoulos’s statement was imprecise, it was arguably “substantially true,” a legal defense in defamation cases. Nevertheless, ABC did not issue a correction quickly, and the network and its parent company, Disney, may have opted to settle in part to maintain future access to the Trump administration and protect broader business interests that could come under regulatory scrutiny.
Trump accused pollster Ann Selzer of election interference for publishing a poll where he was losing in Iowa.
Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against pollster Ann Selzer, her firm, The Des Moines Register, and its parent company Gannett, accusing them of election interference and consumer fraud over a pre-election poll that showed Kamala Harris leading him in Iowa by 3 points. Trump ultimately won the state by 13 points and claims the poll was deliberately misleading to sway the election. Filed under the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act, the lawsuit alleges the poll was part of a coordinated effort to deceive voters and create a false sense of momentum for Harris. Media law experts widely view the lawsuit as legally weak but potentially aimed at intimidating the press. Selzer, who later announced she would stop political polling, declined to comment, while The Register stands by its reporting and transparency.
AP News was not allowed in the White House press pool and official events because they would not call the Gulf of Mexico "Gulf of America"
Violation of free speech
The Associated Press has asked a federal judge to reinstate its access to the White House press pool and official events after being banned by the Trump administration. AP argues that the ban—imposed because the agency refused to comply with Trump’s executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America—violates freedom of speech and amounts to unlawful viewpoint discrimination. The government counters that AP has not shown irreparable harm since it can still cover many White House events and denied exclusion from access to the East Room.
Limits ability to cover breaking news
During a hearing, AP’s chief White House photographer and correspondent testified about how the ban has severely limited their ability to cover breaking news promptly, including delays in reporting and difficulty capturing images from key presidential moments. AP highlighted a lost $150,000 advertising contract linked to the ban. Meanwhile, the judge expressed skepticism about whether courts should dictate White House press access decisions, and the government emphasized that AP’s continued, though limited, access means no major harm has occurred.
Trump filed a lawsuit against journalist Bob Woodward for using audio recordings for his 2020 book Rage.
Donald Trump's attempt to fast-track his lawsuit against journalist Bob Woodward was denied by U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe, who said discovery would not proceed until a motion to dismiss is resolved. The case, filed in January 2023, centers on Woodward’s use of audio recordings from 19 interviews Trump gave for the 2020 book Rage. While Trump consented to the interviews and recordings, he argues Woodward and his publisher, Simon & Schuster, were not authorized to sell the recordings, and is seeking at least $49 million in damages.
Trump alleges he agreed to the interviews only for use in the Rage book, not for wider distribution. He claims Woodward, Simon & Schuster, and Paramount unlawfully released and profited from over eight hours of his recorded voice—without proper permission—and manipulated the audio in ways that “make me look as bad as possible.” He is seeking nearly $50 million in damages, asserting copyright infringement and breach of contract
Trump sued CBS over a 60 Minutes for editing an interview with Kamala Harris.
CBS News president and CEO Wendy McMahon resigned amid a high-profile legal battle between the network and former President Donald Trump. The dispute stems from a $20 billion lawsuit Trump filed against CBS over the alleged deceptive editing of a 2025 “60 Minutes” interview with his former opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, about the U.S.-Israeli relationship. Trump initially sued for $10 billion in October 2024 and later doubled the claim.
Trump sued the Pulitzer Prize Board for awarding The New York Times and the Washington Post for their 2016 reports on Trump’s Russia campaign ties.
Donald Trump won a key legal victory when a Florida judge refused to dismiss his 2022 libel lawsuit against the Pulitzer Prize Board. The suit centers on the board’s 2022 decision to reaffirm Pulitzer awards given to the New York Times and Washington Post for their 2016 reports on Trump’s alleged Russia campaign ties. Trump claims those stories contained falsehoods disproven by Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
The judge rejected the board’s argument that their reaffirmation was just opinion, allowing the case to move forward. The ruling also criticized the board for not properly verifying anonymous sources used in the awarded articles. Trump’s lawsuit will now enter discovery, where his lawyers can question Pulitzer officials and probe the reviews that supported the awards.
Trump signed an executive order to halt all funding to PBS and NPR.
"Radical, woke propaganda"
On May 1, 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the federal government to halt all funding to PBS and NPR, accusing the public broadcasters of spreading “radical, woke propaganda.” The order instructs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and related agencies to eliminate both direct and indirect public subsidies to the networks. The move is part of a broader effort by Trump to use executive power to defund or control cultural, educational, and media institutions he views as oppositional, including arts organizations, universities, and independent news outlets.
Cuts would severely impact essential public services
PBS and NPR receive around $500 million annually in public funding, and CPB is currently suing Trump for firing three of its board members—an action it claims violates federal authority and cripples its ability to operate. PBS CEO Paula Kerger warned the cuts would severely impact essential public services, especially children’s educational programming. The funding battle follows previous legal pushback against Trump’s attempts to dismantle other publicly funded media, such as Voice of America, with courts ruling in some cases that his actions may have overstepped constitutional limits.
Veteran Journalist Terry Moran fired from ABC News for posting a scathing review of Donald Trump
ABC News fired veteran journalist Terry Moran after he posted a scathing critique of Donald Trump and his adviser Stephen Miller on X (formerly Twitter), calling them both "world-class haters." The post, which Moran later deleted, was deemed a violation of ABC’s standards of objectivity and professionalism. The network initially suspended Moran on June 8, stating the post did not reflect ABC’s values. Just two days later, ABC announced it would not renew his contract, citing the post as the reason. The backlash was swift from Trump’s team, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Vice President J.D. Vance both publicly demanding accountability. While Moran has not commented on the firing, he announced on June 11 that he would continue his journalism independently on Substack.