New York Daily News

Nervous Bar Assoc. sat on takedown

- BY ADAM EDELMAN

DONALD TRUMP is a “libel bully” and a “loser” who despite having “been involved in a mind-boggling 4,000 lawsuits” never won a freespeech-related case, a report compiled by the American Bar Associatio­n revealed.

But in an ironic twist, the deputy executive director of the ABA — the 138-year-old law society that sets nearly all academic and ethical standards for legal education and the overall law profession — appeared to balk from publishing the appraisal over concerns the GOP nominee would take them to court.

The report, ultimately released by the Media Law Resource Center, was compiled by the ABA to show the level of legal aggression Trump has historical­ly aimed at people and organizati­ons who say and write things about him that he doesn’t like.

It’s a pattern of behavior he has continued over the course of the presidenti­al race as he vowed to “open up” libel laws to allow him to more easily sue media outlets and threatened legal action against the women accusing him of sexual harassment.

“Donald J. Trump is a libel bully. Like most bullies, he’s also a loser, to borrow from Trump’s vocabulary,” the report stated. “Trump and his companies have been involved in a mind-boggling 4,000 lawsuits over the last 30 years and sent countless threatenin­g cease-and-desist letters to journalist­s and critics. But the GOP presidenti­al nominee and his companies have never won a single speech-related case filed in a public court.”

“Media defense lawyers would do well to remind Trump of his sorry record in speech-related cases filed in public courts when responding to bullying libel cease-and-desist letters,” the blistering article stated, adding that the mogul’s suits were “worthy of a comedy routine.”

All told, the article, which contained 81 citations, delves into seven cases brought by

 ??  ?? Bar Associatio­n article told of TV host Bill Maher (left) being hit with a bizarre “breach of contract” suit after he joked he’d give $5 million to charity if Donald Trump would produce his birth certificat­e.
Bar Associatio­n article told of TV host Bill Maher (left) being hit with a bizarre “breach of contract” suit after he joked he’d give $5 million to charity if Donald Trump would produce his birth certificat­e.
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