“You can do anything”
The Times itself reports on the ridiculous libel threat.
Donald J. Trump threatened to sue The New York Times for libel on Wednesday night in response to an article that featured two women accusing him of touching them inappropriately years ago, but the newspaper defended its reporting and told Mr. Trump’s lawyer that “we welcome the opportunity to have a court set him straight.”
Dear Sirs,
We acknowledge your letter of 29th April referring to Mr. J. Arkell.
We note that Mr Arkell’s attitude to damages will be governed by the nature of our reply and would therefore be grateful if you would inform us what his attitude to damages would be, were he to learn that the nature of our reply is as follows: fuck off.
Yours,
Private Eye
The Times stands by the story.
David McCraw, vice president and assistant general counsel of The New York Times, followed up in a letter to Mr. Kasowitz and said that the article would not be retracted.
“The women quoted in our story spoke out on an issue of national importance – indeed, an issue that Mr. Trump himself discussed with the whole nation watching during Sunday night’s presidential debate,” Mr. McCraw wrote. “It would have been a disservice not just to our readers but to democracy itself to silence their voices.”
Mr. McCraw also made the case that the crux of a libel claim is that a person’s reputation has been damaged. However, Mr. Trump has repeatedly boasted in public about his “non-consensual sexual touching of women,” Mr. McCraw said.
It would be an interesting challenge to think of a way anyone could damage Donald Trump’s reputation.
https://www.facebook.com/144310995587370/photos/a.271728576178944.71555.144310995587370/1309671829051275/?type=3&theater
I’ll happily stand as a witness to the fact that the statements merely added a sense of general confirmation and verisimilitude to the impression I had formed of Trump as a result of his own deeds and actions.
I suspect I will be several hundred million people down the list of witnesses attesting to the same.
the discovery phase would deplete popcorn stocks world-wide
^ I hate popcorn, but I’ve bought futures in it already!
…and butter, the real stuff, not that artificial stuff they use in theatres
I think it’s worth remembering that one of the earliest red-flags of his campaign was a promise that he would change the laws to make it easier to sue for libel. He doesn’t like the fact that he can’t sue for opinions or because someone told the truth about him.
Which given how freely he lies about others is equally funny and tragic. It got to the point some time ago where every new utterance from Trump feels like turning a corner and finding a huge steaming pile of diarrhoea in the middle of the footpath. You just stare at it in horror thinking ‘WTF! Where did this come from and who’s going to clean it up?’
And #repealthe19th is trending on Twitter. I hate this election.
He really does want to be a petty dictator, with absolute power to decide who can do what, or say what. He, of course, would give himself the power to do anything he wanted.
@8, Fuuuuuuck.
Private Eye is not infrequently contacted by m’learned friends, often and recently (#1425, p. 39) by an old friend http://www.carter-ruck.com/ always referred to in print with an unfortunate typo as Carter-Fuck. There is concern after the Levenson inquiry (in the U.K. into email hacking by Murdoch newspapers) that a watchdog (http://pressrecognitionpanel.org.uk/prp-call-for-information-impresss-application-for-recognition/) would require a publication that was successful in defending against a libel suit to still pay costs.
@11, boy, talk about suppression of speech!
Re ‘…it would be an interesting challenge to think of a way anyone could damage Donald Trump’s reputation…’
As is my wont, I made a few attempts… Various reversals (he’s not a _real_ racist, this is all just a troll’…) Some more hyperbolic (covert war criminal? Failed real estate business actually a front for human trafficking?)…
And yeah, somehow, it all comes out slightly _less_ awful than the emerging reality. So, I guess, got nothin’.