Trump is now threatening to sue the New York Times for publishing information about his tax records

Robert Reich
10.2.2016

He has no case. But that hasn’t stopped Trump before:

1. In 1984, Trump filed his first libel lawsuit -- against the “Chicago Tribune” and its architecture critic for calling Trump’s 1980’s plan for a 150-story Manhattan skyscraper “aesthetically lousy.” A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit, saying there's no accounting for taste and Trump should get a thicker skin.

2. In 2006, Trump filed a $5-billion libel lawsuit against Timothy O’Brien for writing in his book “TrumpNation: The Art of Being The Donald,” that Trump was at best worth $250 million, not the billions Trump claimed. A New Jersey court dismissed the case because Trump failed to prove O’Brien had “any actual doubts” about the accuracy of his book, and that Trump lacked any “reliable” evidence that he was worth billions, admitting his net worth is “based on [his] … own feelings.”

3. In 2013, Trump sued Bill Maher. Maher had said on his TV show that he’d donate $5 million to charity if Trump would provide his birth certificate to disprove he was the “spawn of his mother having sex with an orangutan.” Trump provided his birth certificate and filed a $5-million breach of contract lawsuit against Maher, but then quickly withdrew the lawsuit.

4. In 2014, Trump filed a $1 million libel suit against a former student of Trump University for claiming the University and its affiliates engaged in “deceptive business practices,” “trickery,” and “fraud.” A federal judge dismissed the suit, ruling that Trump failed to prove that the former student published with knowing falsity.

5. In 2015, Trump and his Las Vegas hotel companies filed a deceptive advertising lawsuit against two labor unions for calling Trump "anti-union." Two months ago, a federal judge dismissed it, saying labor protests are not advertising.

Notwithstanding this string of legal defeats, Trump has promised that if elected president he will loosen the libel laws so it's easier for someone like him to sue when the media criticizes someone like him.

What do you think?

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