Trump camp sues CNN, alleges libel

NEW YORK — The Trump campaign filed a libel lawsuit against CNN on Friday for a column about the president and election help from Russia, the third such action taken against a news organization in the past two weeks.

The campaign said a piece by Larry Noble posted in June on the CNN website falsely says that the campaign considered seeking Russia’s help in the 2020 campaign and “decided to leave that option on the table.” It made the complaint in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Atlanta, where CNN is based.

The lawsuit said the article doesn’t back up Noble’s statement with evidence and that CNN and Noble had shown a pattern of bias against President Donald Trump.

The news channel had no comment on the lawsuit, a spokeswoman said.

Last week, the campaign sued The Washington Post for similar opinion pieces that discussed the Trump campaign welcoming Russian help in 2016. A week earlier, The New York Times was the target, for a Max Frankel op-ed suggesting Trump and Russia had an understanding to exchange campaign help for more favorable policies toward the country.

“The Trump campaign is trying to send a message, both to the press and the public, that you criticize the president at your peril,” said Brian Hauss, staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project.

The lawsuit alleges the CNN article caused damage to the campaign in the “millions of dollars.”