Supreme Court Rejects Dershowitz's $300 Million CNN Defamation Suit as 2 Justices Dissent
Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · Jun 29
Supreme Court Rejects Dershowitz's $300 Million CNN Defamation Suit as 2 Justices Dissent
3 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · Jun 29
Summary
$300 million in damages sought by Alan Dershowitz will remain out of reach after the Supreme Court declined, without explanation, to revive his defamation case against CNN.
2 justices — Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch — dissented, saying the court should reconsider the New York Times v. Sullivan standard that requires public figures to prove actual malice.
Dershowitz argued CNN distorted his 2020 impeachment-trial remarks by airing only part of an answer, making it appear he believed a president could escape impeachment for illegal acts tied to reelection.
CNN said it had aired his full remarks live and later invited him on twice to clarify them; lower courts threw out the suit after finding no evidence the network knowingly or recklessly published falsehoods.
The dispute grew out of Dershowitz's defense of Donald Trump during the Ukraine-related impeachment trial, where Trump was later acquitted by the Senate.