A Trump-appointed federal judge dismissed President Donald Trump’s libel lawsuit against CNN on Thursday for an opinion piece critical of the president last year.
Judge Michael Brown of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia ruled that Trump’s campaign had failed to prove that CNN exhibited actual malice toward him, the legal test required to establish whether libel has been demonstrated against a public figure.
Brown said the campaign has until the end of this month to update their complaint to proceed with the lawsuit.
Neither a Trump campaign attorney nor a CNN spokesperson commented on the decision.
Trump’s campaign filed the lawsuit in March, and it was one among similar complaints filed against other media outlets such as the Washington Post and the New York Times.
The lawsuit alleged that Larry Noble’s 2019 opinion piece published on CNN’s website falsely claimed that the president’s campaign “assessed the potential risks and benefits of again seeking Russia’s help in 2020 and has decided to leave that option on the table.”
Noble is a former Federal Election Commission official and campaign finance advocate.
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