News and Commentary

Trump Administration Official Files $50 Million Defamation Lawsuit Against CNN

Network "was deeply invested in promoting the Russia collusion hoax," suit says

   DailyWire.com
US dollar bills, illustration.
JESPER KLAUSEN / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Getty Images

A Trump administration official has filed a $50 million lawsuit against CNN, alleging the network published “unfounded left-wing political narratives” about him.

The lawsuit by Kash Patel, the chief of staff to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, claims in the defamation lawsuit that CNN published false statements and promoted “unfounded left-wing political narratives” by identifying Patel as a pro-Trump conspiracy theorist who was trying to damage Democrat nominee Joe Biden.

Fox News reported that “the complaint says defamatory statements in the articles include, ‘Trump loyalist connected to Biden conspiracy theories is leading Pentagon transition,’ ‘Kash Patel, a Trump loyalist, … was connected to efforts to spread conspiracy theories about Joe Biden,’ Kash ‘has also worked to discredit Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election,’ ‘Pentagon blocked Biden’s intelligence transition team from meeting with agencies,’ and ‘Defense Department transition office … is led by a Trump loyalist connected to efforts to spread conspiracy theories about the President-elect,’ among other similar examples.”

The complaint claims the network “attacked” Patel “because CNN was deeply invested in promoting the Russia collusion hoax and the fraudulent ‘dossier’ manufactured by Fusion GPS.”

“The Defendants fabricated the Defamatory Statements and knew, therefore, that the statements were false. They knew that Kash was not the source of a single conspiracy theory and had no connection to any conspiracy theory about Biden,” Patel’s attorney, Steven Biss, who formally represented California Rep. Devin Nunes in another defamation lawsuit against CNN, said in the lawsuit.

“Defendants provide no evidence or example of any stories spread by Kash about Biden because there are none. CNN reported on the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry and read the Democrats’ report, and knew, therefore, that no evidence was uncovered connecting Kash,” he said.

Biss argued that CNN “harbored extreme professional and personal animus, bias, spite, and ill-will towards Kash as a result of Kash’s revelations of CNN’s corrupt business practices and deceitful misreporting.”

Kash “uncovered many inconvenient facts undermining the fake political narrative about ‘collusion’ between members of the Trump campaign and ‘Russians,’” when he was counsel for Nunes, then-chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the complaint claims.

“CNN attacked Kash and published defamatory falsehoods about him because CNN was deeply invested in promoting the Russia collusion hoax and the fraudulent “dossier” manufactured by Fusion GPS for the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee,” Biss wrote. “Kash debunked CNN’s reporting… CNN’s latest brutal attack on Kash’s reputation in the Articles is a continuation of past smear campaigns to discredit Kash.”

Trump was investigated for 675 days by special counsel Robert Mueller and a team of 19 lawyers. Despite 2,800 subpoenas and 500 witness interviews, the counsel’s office found no evidence “that any U.S. person or Trump campaign official or associate” conspired or “knowingly coordinated” with Russians during the 2016 campaign.

Related: Brit Hume: Russiagate ‘Worst Journalistic Fiasco’ He’s Seen In 50-Year News Career

Got a tip worth investigating?

Your information could be the missing piece to an important story. Submit your tip today and make a difference.

Submit Tip
The Daily Wire   >  Read   >  Trump Administration Official Files $50 Million Defamation Lawsuit Against CNN