(This post may contain disputed claims. We make no assertions as to the validity of the information presented by our Opinion Columnist. We are an opinion blog, not a traditional news outlet, and this post should be treated as such. Enjoy.)President Donald Trump is taking the gloves off. The president and his campaign for re-election are vowing to sue CNN and their president Jeff Zucker. This comes on the heels of a CNN whistleblower who made videos showing their extreme hatred and bias against Trump which is constantly reflected in their reporting. The president’s attorneys have included big monetary damages for “misleading the American people.” But that’s not all. You’ll love this.
Outraged by secretly taped anti-Trump comments attributed to CNN President Jeff Zucker and others at the cable network, President Trump’s campaign is vowing to sue the company for “a substantial payment of damages.”
According to the Washington Examiner, they have a copy of the letter Trump’s attorney, Charles J. Harder, sent to CNN and Jeff Zucker. Luckily, they shared the highlights.
In a four-page letter to CNN, Zucker, and Executive Vice President David Vigilante, Trump attorney Charles J. Harder cited years of anti-Trump bias at the network and claimed the cable giant has broken its promise of “excellence in journalism.”
Listing several examples from the just-released Project Veritas videotapes of CNN insiders describing Zucker’s demand for “impeachment above all else,” Harder wrote that they “are merely the tip of the iceberg of the evidence my clients have accumulated over recent years.”
He added, “Never in the history of this country has a President been the subject of such a sustained barrage of unfair, unfounded, unethical and unlawful attacks by so-called ‘mainstream’ news, as the current situation.”
While media is typically protected by the First Amendment, Harder said the bias he cited at CNN was a violation of the Lanham Act “by constituting misrepresentations to the public, to your advertisers, and to others” to distribute “truly fair and balanced” news, which is CNN claims to do.
“Accordingly, my clients intend to file legal action against you, to seek compensatory damages, treble damages, punitive damages, injunctive relief, reimbursement of legal costs, and all other available legal and equitable remedies, to the maximum extent permitted by law,” said the letter.
What’s more, Harder suggested even if the campaign and CNN come to an agreement, he would seek money as part of that deal.
“Please contact the undersigned to discuss an appropriate resolution of this matter, which would include a substantial payment of damages, as well as all other appropriate measures that are necessary to fully address the magnitude of the situation,” wrote Harder in the letter sent by overnight mail and email on Wednesday.
Of course, CNN spokesman Matt Dornic said, “This is nothing more than a desperate PR stunt and doesn’t merit a response.”
Trump has long been at war with CNN and other media he dubs “fake news.” CNN’s White House reporter, Jim Acosta, has publicly made his hatred of the president known with his book titled The Enemy of the People. So, when Project Veritas got contacted by a CNN whistleblower, they knew they had struck gold.
“Project Veritas-Obtained Undercover Videos Highlight Jeff Zucker’s (@CNN) Campaign To Destroy Trump. Videos Reveal @CNN’s BIAS!’ @TuckerCarlson @FoxNews Does this sound like a good, or even great, lawsuit?” tweeted Trump on October 14.
“Project Veritas-Obtained Undercover Videos Highlight Jeff Zucker’s (@CNN) Campaign To Destroy Trump. Videos Reveal @CNN’s BIAS!” @TuckerCarlson @FoxNews Does this sound like a good, or even great, lawsuit?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 15, 2019
In three new, secretly taped videos, Project Veritas said they show CNN insiders detailing Zucker’s anti-Trump views. Those comments, wrote Harder, show that CNN is violating journalism ethics.
“Recently released video footage of individuals alleged to be your employees indicates that your reporting relating to President Trump is contrary to your own mission and the aforementioned Code of Ethics,” Harder wrote.
“Your own employees appear to state that CNN is focused on trying to ‘take down President Trump,’ driven by a ‘personal vendetta’ that Mr. Zucker purportedly has against him, rather than reporting the news in an objective manner,” added Harder.
Project Veritas has released video after video of employees and Zuker admitting CNN is no longer a valid news agency and is hyperfocused on reporting fake news about Trump.
Patrick Davis, Manager of Field Operations at CNN said: “I hate seeing what we were and what we could be and what we’ve become. It’s just awful…I mean, we could be so much better than what we are…And the buck stops with him (Zucker).”
“I haven’t listened to a 9 am call in about 15 years. I just stopped,” complains Patrick Davis. “Just, I can’t listen to it. It’s all bullshit. It’s all just a bunch of bullshit. And I wish that wasn’t the case.”
Scott Garber, Senior Field Engineer at CNN: “We used to cover news. We used to go out and do stories…But Trump is more important.”
Adia Jacobs, CNN Technical Operations Supervisor: “When Zucker took over it wasn’t until Trump that we ended up being all Trump all the time.”
President Trump is unlike any other president in the history of the United States. Never have we witnessed such outright animosity by the entire media complex as we do with Trump. Never has a president been faced with having to wage war against the people who are supposed to be protecting our country by being the “Fourth Estate.”
For our Republic to flourish and stay healthy, the Founding Fathers wrote the First Amendment to include the press for a very important reason. The Founding Fathers knew the Republic would slide into tyranny unless we had a free press that could inform the citizenry.
CNN has forfeited its right to claim to be a “news agency.” They have every right to hate Trump, but they have no right to claim they are reporting “straight news.” For example, CNN claims Don Lemon is an unbiased news anchor. Fox News, on the other hand, says Sean Hannity is a conservative talk show host.
This misleads the American people, and it’s high time CNN and Zucker are exposed for the unrepairable damage they have done to Trump and every American who tunes in to their fake news network.
