Media & Communications Law

Trump’s lawyer sends letter demanding publisher halt release of unflattering book

Updated: A prominent libel lawyer representing President Donald Trump has fired off cease-and-desist letters in an attempt to stop the scheduled release of an unflattering book on the president's administration, and to stifle Steve Bannon, Trump's former strategist whose derogatory comments in the book have infuriated the president.

Jan 4, 2018 3:25 PM CST

Offshore law firm sues 2 UK-based news outlets for reporting on ‘Paradise Papers’

Offshore law firm Appleby has sued the BBC and the Guardian for their reports on documents taken in a data breach. Appleby wants a permanent injunction to prevent further use of the information, disclosure of the documents taken, and return of all document copies, report the BBC and the Guardian.…

Dec 19, 2017 2:09 PM CST

Justice Department sues to block AT&T’s acquisition of Time Warner; Trump tweets may factor in case

The U.S. Justice Department on Monday filed an antitrust suit seeking to block AT&T’s $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner. The suit points out that AT&T’s DirecTV is the nation’s largest distributor of traditional subscription television, and Time Warner owns many top TV networks, including TNT, TBS, CNN, and HBO.…

Nov 20, 2017 4:40 PM CST

Roy Moore’s lawyer threatens website with ‘utterly incoherent’ letter

The lawyer representing former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore is being closely scrutinized as he tries to fend off accusations that the Republican U.S. Senate candidate had pursued inappropriate relationships with multiple teenage girls in the 1970s and 1980s, including a 14-year-old. Trenton Garmon of Garmon & Liddon fired off…

Nov 16, 2017 12:05 PM CST

DOJ says Trump’s tweets are official presidential statements

The Department of Justice on Monday told a federal district court judge In Washington, D.C. that Donald Trump’s tweets are “official statements of the President of the United States.”

Nov 14, 2017 2:49 PM CST

Did David Boies push ethical boundaries with dual role for Weinstein and the New York Times?

Boies Schiller Flexner partner David Boies says he would never have signed a contract with an investigative agency had he known of the tactics it used in an effort to stop the New York Times and other journalists from publishing a story about sexual harassment by embattled Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

Nov 8, 2017 9:28 AM CST

Could Trump pull NBC’s broadcast license? The First Amendment isn’t his only problem

President Donald Trump on Wednesday tweeted his displeasure with an NBC News report that said he wanted a nearly tenfold increase in the country’s nuclear warhead stockpile.

Oct 12, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

‘Fake news’ has anti-Semitic origins, says American Bar Foundation research professor

President Donald Trump has claimed that he coined the phrase “fake news,” but the term and the idea it represents are not new, according to an American Bar Foundation research professor. In fact, the “fake news” charge “has roots in the dark world of American anti-Semitism and in the cries…

Sep 6, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

Federal judge dismisses Sarah Palin’s defamation suit against the New York Times

A federal judge in Manhattan has rejected a defamation suit filed against the New York Times by former vice-presidential candidate and Alaska governor Sarah Palin. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff ruled (PDF) on Tuesday that Palin had failed to show that mistakes in the article were made with knowledge of…

Aug 29, 2017 4:25 PM CDT

Realign laws on evidence-gathering on the internet, Google GC says

For as long as we’ve had legal systems, prosecutors and police have needed to gather evidence. And for each new advance in communications, law enforcement has adapted.

Aug 24, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

What Trump can—and can’t—do to clamp down on the press

As a candidate, Donald Trump attacked what he called "fake news" from the mainstream media and vowed to fight for stricter libel laws. Now as president of the United States, what damage might he do to the press, and what legal options do journalists have available to them to defend their speech? And how might the administration fight the leaks to the media that appear daily?

Aug 12, 2017 2:13 PM CDT

Rosenstein denies any ‘fishing expeditions’ in Mueller probe

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said in a Sunday interview that special counsel Robert Mueller can investigate any crimes discovered in the scope of his probe, but “we don’t engage in fishing expeditions.” In a Fox News Sunday interview, Rosenstein said the special counsel is bound by the rules and…

Aug 7, 2017 9:04 AM CDT

Snarky, profane ACLU brief supports John Oliver against coal company CEO

The American Civil Liberties Union has a message for Murray Energy CEO Bob Murray: “You can’t sue people for being mean to you, Bob.”

Aug 3, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

Appeals court lifts $11K sanction against lawyer for telling reporter about upcoming trial

An Ohio appeals court has overturned a sanction of nearly $11,000 imposed against a Cleveland lawyer who alerted a reporter about an upcoming trial. The trial judge who sanctioned lawyer Peter Pattakos said the disclosure was intended to discredit a nanny school sued by his client and created a risk…

Jul 11, 2017 1:25 PM CDT

ABC settles suit claiming ‘pink slime’ stories defamed beef company

ABC News on Wednesday settled a $1.9 billion defamation lawsuit claiming its stories about a ground beef product labeled “pink slime” by the network had damaged the business that produces it. The suit settled for an undisclosed amount during a trial of the claims in South Dakota, report the Wall…

Jun 28, 2017 1:11 PM CDT