The White House on Thursday tried to elaborate on the president's remark at the Cabinet meeting the day before that "we are going to take a strong look at our country's libel laws" – a surprising remark to some because the libel laws are state laws, and there is no federal libel law he or Congress can do anything about.
Given that libel laws are state laws, Newsmax asked White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, what did he mean?
"Certainly states should take a look at [libel laws]," she told us. "Look, the president is upset and frustrated with the misreporting and fake news that regularly takes place. He is tired of the media's obsession with a recent fictitious book on his administration [a reference to Michael Wolff's "Fire and Fury"]."
Sanders added Trump "thinks when things like that happen, there should be some action or recourse. He's simply saying it should be looked into."
Pressed by Newsmax to state whether he meant states should re-examine their libel laws, Sanders told us: "I think he was speaking, generally, libel laws should be looked into."
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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