On Monday, The New York Times correctly reported that Donald Trump’s known signatures “closely match” the “Donald” signature on the lewd birthday card to Jeffrey Epstein.
That so enraged the Ketchup-Thrower-in-Chief that his lawyer threatened to sue The Times for $10 billion if it did not retract and apologize for that article as well as an earlier one debunking Trump’s lie that he doesn’t “draw pictures.”
Fortunately, The Times is not about to roll over and play dead, as CBS and ABC have. At least not yet.
Via The New York Times:
A spokeswoman for The New York Times, Danielle Rhoades Ha, responded on Wednesday: “Our journalists reported the facts, provided the visual evidence and printed the president’s denial. It’s all there for the American people to see and to make up their own minds about.”
“We will continue to pursue the facts without fear or favor and stand up for journalists’ First Amendment right to ask questions on behalf of the American people,” she added.
Mr. Trump has consistently tried to delegitimize journalistic organizations that report on him and his administration. Recently, ABC and CBS each paid $16 million to settle lawsuits that he brought against the networks.
In June, Mr. Trump threatened to sue The Times and CNN for publishing articles concerning a preliminary intelligence report about an American attack on Iran nuclear sites, which ran counter to the president’s assertion that the Iranian nuclear program had been “obliterated.” (The head of the intelligence agency responsible for that report was later fired.) Mr. Trump has yet to file a lawsuit against either news outlet over the Iran matter.
It’s beyond depressing that it’s noteworthy for a large media organization to stand behind its journalism in the face of threats from an authoritarian bully like Trump. But here we are.
