New York
CNN
—
A Florida circuit judge on Monday denied the Pulitzer Board’s request to pause a defamation lawsuit from Donald Trump until the president is out of office.
The decision from the 19th Judicial Circuit Court’s Judge Robert L. Pegg late Monday presents a blow to the board, which in January pointed out that the president has sought to stay civil lawsuits in which he is a defendant. But it’s a major victory for Trump, who is actively waging a war on news media publishers whose reporting he dislikes.
Trump brought the lawsuit against the board in 2022 after it defended its decision to award the 2018 National Reporting prize to the Washington Post and the New York Times for the pair’s coverage of Russian interference in the 2016 election and its alleged connections to the Trump campaign.
After Trump returned to the Oval Office in January, the Pulitzer Board argued that proceeding with the lawsuit would be constitutionally improper given it would constitute a bid to exercise “direct control” over him during his presidency, in addition to distracting from his presidential duties.
Still, Pegg sided with the president, whose team argued that he is the best arbiter of what would divert him from his duties as president.
“Should the duties of the President interfere with his ability to perform his obligations in this action, he is certainly entitled to seek the appropriate relief,” Pegg wrote in his decision.
Trump’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In the event that Trump does not seek relief but fails to comply with the court’s rules, the Pulitzer Board can still apply for the “appropriate sanctions” — which include fines, costs, attorney’s fees or dismissal, Pegg added.
In a Monday statement, a spokesperson for the Pulitzer Board criticized the president’s push to continue his lawsuit while seeking stays in civil cases against him in Delaware and New York.
“Allowing any president to pursue civil claims against private citizens in state court while simultaneously claiming that private citizens cannot pursue civil claims against him in the same exact court is extremely troubling and should raise concerns for all Americans,” the spokesperson said, adding that the board is considering its next steps and remains committed to defending journalism.
Trump has for years demanded that the board rescind the 2018 prize, arguing that special counsel Robert Muller’s 2019 report — which found that Trump campaign members had neither “conspired (n)or coordinated with the Russian government in the election interference activities” — exonerated him. But that report did not clear Trump himself of wrongdoing.
While Pegg’s decision is unsurprising, Trump can still decide to drop the lawsuit, assuming he wants it to go away. Pegg’s decision is not binding in other courts, though it could be if the question is raised at the federal level given the lawsuit’s constitutional nature.
The lawsuit is one of several that the president has brought against media organizations, whom he has branded the “enemy of the people” in a bid to exacerbate distrust in media organizations, hamstring organizations financially and curb reporting by stoking fears of litigation. In December, Disney-owned ABC News settled a defamation suit brought by Trump for $15 million, while CBS News parent Paramount is still fighting a Trump lawsuit over its “60 Minutes” sit-down with former Vice President Kamala Harris.
