Donald Trump's Biglaw Firm Threatens To Sue New York Times Over Publication Of Sexual Assault Allegations
Trump may be opening up a bottomless can of legal worms.
Donald Trump (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty)
Last night, the New York Times published a report featuring the stories of two women, Jessica Leeds and Rachel Crooks, who claimed that they’d been sexually assaulted by Donald Trump. These allegations come a week after the second presidential debate, where Trump told the nation that he’d never actually kissed or groped women without their permission, despite the fact that he’d bragged about doing so during a 2005 conversation recorded on a hot microphone that was recently made public.
Prior to publication, Megan Twohey of the New York Times called Trump for comment:
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In a phone interview on Tuesday night, a highly agitated Mr. Trump denied every one of the women’s claims.
“None of this ever took place,” said Mr. Trump, who began shouting at the Times reporter who was questioning him. He said that The Times was making up the allegations to hurt him and that he would sue the news organization if it reported them.
“You are a disgusting human being,” he told the reporter as she questioned him about the women’s claims.
Asked whether he had ever done any of the kissing or groping that he had described on the recording, Mr. Trump was once again insistent: “I don’t do it. I don’t do it. It was locker room talk.”
On Wednesday afternoon, both Twohey and Dean Baquet, executive editor of the Times, received legal letters from Trump’s attorney, Marc E. Kasowitz, name partner at Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman, threatening to sue the publication if it did not retract the “libelous” article about Leeds and Crooks. (Last week, Kasowitz threatened to sue the Times for publication of three pages from Trump’s 1995 tax returns.)
Here’s an excerpt from Kasowitz’s letter (the full letter is available on the next page):
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According to CNN Money, a high-ranking source within the Trump campaign said that a lawsuit was being drafted against the Times, and that “NYT editors, reporters, politically motivated accusers better lawyer up.” Lawyer up they shall, but is it wise for Trump to sue over these allegations? Numerous voices across several media outlets disagree.
Dylan Byers and Brian Stelter of CNN Money note that Trump would have the burden of proving falsity and actual malice, and that the Times would be able to pursue discovery. In an interview with the Washington Post, Professor John L. Diamond of UC Hastings Law said it would be “very appropriate and relevant for the reporters to question Trump on the truth of the allegation under oath, and a court would likely order depositions. There is no Fifth Amendment protection for civil cases.” If Trump denies the allegations under oath, and they were later proven to be true, he could face perjury charges.
Even if Trump could show that the claims of Leeds and Crooks were untrue, that alone would not be enough to win a libel case against the times. The “actual malice” standard established by the U.S. Supreme Court means Trump would further have to demonstrate “that the defendants knew the report was false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth,” Diamond said.”Given the malice requirement, the case would be easily dismissible, based on the fact of a credible interview,” he added.
The Times could “easily” win dismissal of the suit, but would they want to? Professor Diamond hinted that the newspaper may “defer the motion” in order to get Trump to testify under oath. It seems that if Trump decides to pursue a suit over these allegations, he may be opening up a bottomless can of legal worms for himself.
Maybe this is why the Republican presidential candidate wants to “open up our libel laws” if he wins the election in November — so he can “sue [publications] and win money instead of having no chance of winning because they’re totally protected.”
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(Flip to the next page to see Marc Kasowitz’s letter to the Times, in full.)
UPDATE (2:45 p.m.): Here is the NYT’s awesome response.
Two Women Say Donald Trump Touched Them Inappropriately [New York Times]
Donald Trump threatens to sue New York Times over sexual harassment report [CNN Money]
Donald Trump is threatening to sue the New York Times. That might be a bad idea. [Washington Post]
Earlier: Donald Trump Chooses Biglaw Firm To Fight New York Times Over Publication Of Tax Documents
Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. Follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.
