Highlights
- Trump filed nine lawsuits against media since 2020.
- ABC paid $15m settlement, CBS also settled.
- Courts rule for press but administration outpaces rulings.
Courts have consistently ruled in favour of news companies, throwing out Trump's defamation lawsuits and blocking his attempts to limit press access or cut public media funding.
Judges cite the strong free speech protections in the First Amendment of the US Constitution.
Litigation strategy works
But slow court processes and multiple appeals have worked in favour of an administration that acts fast, tests legal limits and changes tactics after defeats.
"Trump can repeatedly lose individual court battles but still advance his broader agenda of weakening and destabilising the press," told Christina Koningisor, a professor at UC Law San Francisco to Reuters.
Trump has filed at least nine lawsuits against major media companies since 2020, seeking tens of billions of dollars in damages for what he calls false or misleading reports.
His latest setback came on April 13, when a judge threw out his $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal over a story about a birthday letter to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein bearing Trump's signature.
US District Judge Darrin Gayles said the complaint fell "nowhere close" to showing the Journal knowingly published false information.
However, Gayles allowed Trump to file a revised complaint, meaning Dow Jones could still face a costly court battle. Trump's lawyers say they will file a revised suit.
Settlements show costs
Two media companies have settled defamation suits brought by Trump that legal experts called without merit but could have been expensive to fight in court.
ABC agreed to donate $15 million to Trump's presidential library after he sued over incorrect on-air comments about a civil case in which a jury found him liable for sexual abuse.
CBS reached a similar settlement after Trump sued over edits to an interview with Kamala Harris.
Neither company admitted wrongdoing, though ABC apologised and said it regretted anchor George Stephanopoulos' on-air description of the civil judgment.
In the last month, judges have blocked a Trump executive order cutting off federal funds for public broadcasting, reversed his attempts to dismantle Voice of America and twice ruled Pentagon press access rules as unconstitutional.
"The way our legal system works, it can cost a lot of time and money, and the president is able to take advantage of that," noted Tre Lovell, a defamation law specialist.
First Amendment attorney Doug Mirell told Reuters that "Trump's campaign against the media is one that is so multifaceted that the judicial efforts to control him are insufficient."
