Trump Impeachment Whistleblower: Sue Conservative Media To ‘Deradicalize’ It

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman (Ret.), a key figure in the first impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, published an op-ed Monday at the Lawfare blog in which he proposed suing conservative media outlets to make them less “radicalized.” . . .

Now, lamenting that he had not responded by suing President Trump over tweets about him, and noting that the First Amendment “gravely” limits what government can do to stop “lies” by the media, Vindman argues that “right-wing media” (alone) should be held accountable through a lawsuit strategy:

Recent events have made the need for accountability more pressing than ever. Should anyone be surprised that viewers of right-wing media are radicalized when media personalities themselves promote radical ideas based on lies?

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Civil consequences, rather than governmental restrictions on First Amendment rights, could be a meaningful way to take what are fundamentally money-making ventures and demand truth from them, instill rigor in their reporting, and uphold accountability. Like a tabloid being sued and paying severe penalties, media companies and right-wing media personalities will claim that what’s at stake is freedom of speech. But defamation is not covered by the First Amendment, so this is, by definition, not true. And the generous standards in defamation law for purposes of protecting the press offer a true safe haven for good-faith actors even when they err. Putting companies in fear of the real costs in civil damages for slander, libel, and false claims that can cumulatively incite violence and that can individually harm actual human beings should have a restraining effect on their behavior.

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