The latest lawsuit seeks "accountability for brazen election interference committed by" the Des Moines Register and its parent company, Gannett, as well as pollster Selzer.
This statement was originally published on pen.org on 17 December 2024.
PEN America expressed deep concern today over President-elect Donald Trump’s pattern of filing baseless lawsuits against media organizations, including a lawsuit filed Monday against the Des Moines Register and its respected pollster J. Ann Selzer for alleged election interference and fraud, and a defamation case against ABC News that the network settled despite a strong First Amendment defense.
“This is not just about one or two cases – it’s a warning to the entire media industry and civil society,” said Tim Richardson, program director of Journalism and Disinformation at PEN America. “ABC’s settlement sent an alarming signal about how the media may capitulate to these growing threats; this new lawsuit suggests Trump has every intent to continue his attacks on the free press. We cannot allow news organizations to be silenced by legal threats or financial intimidation.”
The latest lawsuit seeks “accountability for brazen election interference committed by” the Des Moines Register and its parent company, Gannett, as well as pollster Selzer.
The case centers on a poll the Des Moines Register released days before the election, conducted by Selzer, which showed Vice President Kamala Harris leading Trump by three points among the state’s voters. Trump went on to win the state by 13 points. It’s not uncommon for pollsters to release polls that don’t match the prevailing narrative when data shows other findings. While the poll ultimately was an outlier, such polls don’t always indicate errors, but rather can signal shifts or nuances other polls might miss.
ABC News agreed to pay $15 million to settle a Florida federal court lawsuit by Trump over comments made by anchor George Stephanopoulos, who questioned Rep. Nancy Mace about supporting Trump despite him being found civilly “liable for rape.” The reference stems from a 2023 civil case in New York in which a federal jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing writer E. Jean Carroll by forcibly penetrating her with his fingers, as well as for defamation. In dismissing Trump’s counterclaim for defamation when Carroll subsequently stated Trump had been found liable for rape, the judge in the New York case specifically noted that the verdict of sexual abuse for which Trump had been found liable would be considered rape in a number of other statutes as well as according to common usage of the term.
“ABC’s settlement could embolden Trump to escalate attacks on news outlets,” Richardson said. “Trump and his allies have long stated that this was their goal, seeking to use a variety of means to throttle negative press coverage. As many experts have noted, the pattern of constant, weaponized lawsuits isn’t about correcting inaccuracies, but about intimidating journalists into silence and shielding government leaders from accountability. While major networks like ABC may survive the financial blow, smaller outlets will face an existential threat from frivolous legal claims. We must also be alert to how they may become timid about taking on the new administration. In an environment where local media already struggle to survive, this is yet another step toward a desert of coverage in all too many parts of the country.”
The lawsuits against ABC News and the Des Moines Register are part of a broader trend. In addition to ABC News, Trump’s targets include a lawsuit against CBS News, a legal threat demanding $10 billion in damages from The New York Times and Penguin Random House, a Federal Election Commission complaint against The Washington Post, and the demand for a retraction from The Daily Beast by Trump campaign co-chief Chris LaCivita.
