Tabloid publisher admits making $150K catch-and-kill payment in concert with Trump campaign

The parent company of the National Enquirer has admitted it made a $150,000 payment to a woman in concert with the Trump campaign to buy her silence about damaging allegations and influence the election. Prosecutors revealed the admission by American Media Inc. in a Department of Justice press release on…

Dec 12, 2018 5:01 PM CST

CNN drops suit after White House restores Acosta press pass and announces new rules for reporters

CNN has dropped its First Amendment lawsuit against President Donald Trump after the administration agreed to restore a press pass for its chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta.

Nov 20, 2018 9:36 AM CST

CNN files First Amendment suit against Trump for revocation of reporter Jim Acosta’s press pass

Updated: CNN and its chief White House correspondent, Jim Acosta, have sued President Donald Trump for revoking the reporter’s White House press pass after a staffer tried, without success, to take away Acosta’s microphone. The suit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., alleges violations of a First Amendment right…

Nov 13, 2018 12:24 PM CST

Immigration lawyer says he won’t comply with subpoena for source of leaked ICE memo

A Centennial, Colorado, lawyer who revealed a leaked internal memo on immigration policy says he won’t comply with a subpoena that asks for information about the source of the leak. Immigration lawyer Daniel Kowalski told the Denver Post and the San Francisco Chronicle that he doesn’t intend to provide any…

Oct 22, 2018 9:47 AM CDT

Trump’s ‘con job’ tweet wasn’t defamation of Stormy Daniels, federal judge rules

Updated: A federal judge in Los Angeles has ruled that a tweet by President Donald Trump was “rhetorical hyperbole” that didn’t defame Stormy Daniels. U.S. District Judge James Otero tossed Daniels’ defamation suit against Trump and ordered her to pay Trump’s legal fees, report Politico, the Washington Post, Courthouse News…

Oct 16, 2018 10:58 AM CDT

Supreme Court to decide whether public access channel can be sued for First Amendment violation

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the operator of a public-access TV channel is a state actor who can be sued by two producers for an alleged First Amendment violation. The case raises a broader question of whether private property can be a public forum, according to Howe on the Court and the Constitution Daily.

Oct 15, 2018 1:50 PM CDT

Writer sues creator of crowdsourced spreadsheet that accused him of abuse, seeks to out contributors

A writer who was accused of sexual misconduct on a crowdsourced Google spreadsheet of “Shitty Media Men” has sued the creator of the list, along with Jane Doe defendants who contributed to it. Writer Stephen Elliott of New Orleans filed the suit Wednesday in federal court in Brooklyn, report the…

Oct 12, 2018 3:30 PM CDT

Department of Justice to sue California over state’s new net neutrality rules

The Trump administration will sue California to try and block the state’s net neutrality law, which sets up yet another high-profile battle between the federal government and the country’s most populous state. Politico, the Verge and the Washington Post have stories. Signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday…

Oct 1, 2018 12:30 PM CDT

Claim says Facebook’s targeting tools help advertisers bypass women for jobs

Businesses placing job ads on Facebook can select who the listing targets based on gender, according to a charge filed Tuesday with the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission on behalf of female workers. The claim was brought against Facebook and 10 companies, the Recorder reports. It was filed by the American…

Sep 18, 2018 3:37 PM CDT

Judge weighs contempt after paper publishes redacted information about alleged school shooter

A judge in Broward County, Florida, is considering a motion to hold the South Florida Sun Sentinel and two of its reporters in contempt of court for publishing redacted information that was uncovered by copying and pasting blacked-out online type into a new file. Judge Elizabeth Scherer said Wednesday that…

Aug 16, 2018 1:11 PM CDT

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones loses a soapbox after FCC seeks fine against pirate radio station

The pirate radio station used by Alex Jones to promote his conspiracy theories is no longer broadcasting over the airwaves after the Federal Communications Commission moved to enforce a fine for operating without a license. The operators of Liberty Radio are refusing to pay the $15,000 fine or to recognize…

Aug 16, 2018 10:29 AM CDT

What is the FCC going to do about millions of bot comments during the net neutrality repeal debate?

Aug 1, 2018 1:50 AM CDT

Court tosses disbarred lawyer’s suit over newspaper article on his ethics case with a ‘crime’ header

An appeals court in California has tossed a suit filed against the San Francisco Chronicle by a now-disbarred lawyer who claimed the newspaper defamed him partly by putting a “crime” header caption on a story about his ethics case.

Jul 2, 2018 7:00 AM CDT

Suspect in Capital Gazette shooting lost pro se case; court said he misunderstood defamation law

A Maryland man who was a losing pro se plaintiff in a defamation suit against the Capital Gazette newspaper chain has been charged with five counts of murder in the Thursday shooting deaths of five newsroom employees. Jarrod Ramos of Laurel is accused of firing a shotgun through the doors of the newsroom and opening fire, killing two editors, a reporter, a community correspondent and a sales assistant, report the Washington Post and the Capital Gazette in stories here and here.

Jun 29, 2018 9:03 AM CDT

Federal judge approves AT&T-Time Warner merger, warns stay request would be unjust

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has approved AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner after concluding that the U.S. Justice Department did not prove that the $85.4 billion deal would harm consumers.

Jun 12, 2018 4:39 PM CDT