In slamming book, Trump calls for tougher libel laws
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump suggested Wednesday that Congress should change libel laws so that he would be better positioned to seek “retribution” against Bob Woodward, the author of the explosive new book that portrays a presidency careening toward a “nervous breakdown.”
“Isn’t it a shame that someone can write an article or book, totally make up stories and form a picture of a person that is literally the exact opposite of the fact, and get away with it without retribution or cost,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “Don’t know why Washington politicians don’t change libel laws?”
The president’s tweet was part an aggressive effort by the White House to discredit Woodward’s forthcoming book, “Fear,” which paints a harrowing portrait of the Trump presidency, based on in-depth interviews with administration officials and others.
Woodward, an associate editor at The Washington Post, has said he stands by his reporting.
“The book means nothing,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday. He said the early release of information from the book was designed to interfere with confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, “which I don’t think it’s done.”
Venting for a second day, Trump tweeted that “Fear: Trump in the White House” was the “exact opposite of the fact.”
During an appearance on Fox News shortly after Trump’s tweet, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she hasn’t “had the conversation” with Trump about any legal actions he might pursue against Woodward. Trump has frequently threatened legal action against others he says have wronged him without following through.
In January, Trump called for a change in libel laws, most of which are crafted at the state level, after the publication of “Fire & Fury,” a tell-all book about the White House by Michael Wolff. At the time, Trump said libel laws are “a sham and a disgrace and do not represent American values or American fairness.”
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said Wednesday that he has no plans to alter libel laws and wasn’t aware of Trump’s tweet.
“No, is that something that’s been suggested?” Ryan said when asked at a news conference whether he is interested in changing the law. Ryan said he had been “busy working” Wednesday morning.
Within the West Wing, aides increasingly numb to drama still were shaken by the in-depth reporting of Woodward’s book, which included interviews with numerous aides and copies of internal memos.
Key allies have pushed back against the book, which quotes Trump aides disparaging the president’s judgment and claiming they plucked papers off his desk to prevent him from withdrawing from a pair of trade agreements. Those issuing denials, at least in part, included Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and chief of staff John Kelly.
Allies also said some of the ire in Trump’s orbit was focused on former staffers such as ex-staff secretary Rob Porter and onetime economic adviser Gary Cohn, who are sympathetically portrayed.
“I don’t think Woodward made anything up. It’s who he talked to,” said former Trump campaign aide Sam Nunberg, adding that Cohn and Porter “look like unsung heroes.”
Sanders also cited the military service of Mattis and Kelly.
“I would certainly rather take the word of those two individuals than a couple of disgruntled former employees who are anonymously attacking this president, trying to make him look bad,” she said.
In later tweets Wednesday, Trump sought to push back on the book’s portrayal of his management style and on its reporting that his aides found him uninterested in many world affairs.
“I’m tough as hell on people & if I weren’t, nothing would get done,” Trump wrote. “Also, I question everybody & everything — which is why I got elected!”