A state judge in New York has tossed a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump’s campaign against the New York Times. The opinion piece argued there had been “quid pro quo” between the ex-president and Russian officials before the 2016 election. Max Frankel, a former Executive Editor of the Times wrote in the piece of ““an overarching deal” before the 2016 election, Russian officials would help Mr. Trump defeat Hillary Clinton in exchange for his taking U.S. foreign policy in a pro-Russia direction.”
The judge ruled the New York Times opinion piece was protected speech. The Times wrote of the judge’s decision:
In his decision on Tuesday, Judge James E. d’Auguste noted three reasons for dismissal. He wrote that Mr. Frankel’s commentary was “nonactionable opinion,” meaning it was constitutionally protected speech; that the Trump campaign did not have standing to sue for defamation; and that the campaign had failed to show that The Times had published the essay with “actual malice.”
The newspaper also quoted David McCraw, The Times’s deputy general counsel:
“The court made clear today a fundamental point about press freedom: We should not tolerate libel suits that are brought by people in power intending to silence and intimidate those who scrutinize them.”