President Donald Trump's lawsuit against The New York Times will be dismissed, according to Fox News judicial analyst Andrew Napolitano, who said "opinion is protected" whether or not it is true.
The Trump campaign is suing the Times over an opinion article on Russian election interference by the newspaper's former executive editor, Max Frankel, in which he claims Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia had an "overarching deal" to defeat the Democratic nominee.
"First of all, opinion is protected," said Napolitano, who served as a New Jersey Superior Court judge for about seven years.
"The president's point is: this is an opinion — it's not an opinion, it was presented as fact," he continued.
"If it is an opinion, the case goes away because your opinion can be anything you want. The doctrine is called a fair comment."
"Even if a fact quoted in it, in The New York Times, is wrong?" asked Fox News "Fox & Friends" host Steve Doocy.
"Correct," Napolitano responded. "Because it is opinion that he claims he's aggrieved by."
He said, "The plaintiff is the [Trump] campaign, and under libel law here in New York, where they filed the complaint, a group can't be the plaintiff, only an individual who's actually been harmed by the alleged defamation can be the plaintiff. Was the president harmed? I don't think he was harmed, this statement came out after he was already president, and it certainly didn't harm him when he was running for president and it is not harming him now."
Napolitano added, "It was actually, I think, a clever way of expanding libel law, but I don't think it will succeed."
When Doocy asked, "so you're saying the campaign does not have standing?" Napolitano answered, "Correct. I think it will be dismissed."
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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