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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump Encouraged Sean Hannity to Go After the New York Times
Trump thought it was a good idea for Hannity to explore legal action against the news outlet for its critical coverage of how Fox News handled the coronavirus crisis.
Asawin Suebsaeng
Maxwell Tani
Lachlan Cartwright
Updated Apr. 29, 2020 5:25PM ET / Published Apr. 29, 2020 5:09PM ET
Over the past month, as Fox News personality Sean Hannity seethed over hisand his networkstreatment in The New York Times, one of the hosts closest friends quietly encouraged him to exact some revenge on the newspaper for reporting that Hannity had downplayed the threat of the coronavirus.
This particular friend was none other than President Donald Trump, who at the time was busy overseeing the federal response to the pandemic and resulting U.S. economic implosion, as his reelection campaign was also filing lawsuits against various local and national media outlets.
According to two people familiar with the matter, Trump had privately gossiped with Hannitya prominent informal adviser to this president and one of Trumps preferred late-night phone buddiesabout the Fox hosts desire to make an example of the Times. Though President Trump thought it was a good idea for Hannity to explore legal action against the news outlet, one of the two sources stressed that it wasnt the presidents idea for Hannity and his attorney to shoot off a threatening letter to the Times. Trump did not order or direct Hannity to do so, this source said.
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C_U_L8R
(44,889 posts)Heh heh. I dare ya to do it. Heh. Go ahead. Heh heh heh. Do it. C'mon. Heh.
Stallion
(6,473 posts)Initech
(99,909 posts)And if you still support them after this, you're a scumbag too.
randr
(12,408 posts)Walleye
(30,699 posts)Me.
(35,454 posts)I love the Times' lawyer's reply of No!
safeinOhio
(32,525 posts)personal lawyer has some time available for a big case.
irisblue
(32,828 posts)NYT said F-off.
More politely, in legalese
Source-https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/14/us/politics/donald-trump-lawsuit-threat.html
snip--The Times stood by the article on Thursday. We stand by the story, which falls clearly into the realm of public service journalism, Eileen Murphy, a spokeswoman for The Times, said in a statement.
David McCraw, vice president and assistant general counsel of The New York Times, followed up in a letter to Mr. Kasowitz and said that the article would not be retracted.
The women quoted in our story spoke out on an issue of national importance - indeed, an issue that Mr. Trump himself discussed with the whole nation watching during Sunday nights presidential debate, Mr. McCraw wrote. It would have been a disservice not just to our readers but to democracy itself to silence their voices.
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