Sheehan's Legal Threat Led CNN to Censor Me, Author Says

[seriousstan]

CNN restricted an on-air discussion about a new book dealing with the Iraq war because peace activist Cindy Sheehan threatened to sue over provocative claims about her in the book, one of its co-authors claims.
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One day earlier, peace activist Sheehan said on the nationally syndicated Stephanie Miller radio show that she planned to sue Morgan and Moy "for every nickel they have."

Sheehan stated during the interview that her anger was based on several statements in the book, including a claim that after her son's death, "Cindy had become addicted to online chat rooms of a pornographic nature."


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"We're gonna see them in court, and I hope they sell a bunch of their crappy books, because I'm gonna sue them for every nickel they have," Sheehan said.

http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewNation.asp?Page=/Nation/archive/200610/NAT20061024a.html

[EFerrari]

1. Translation: CNN didn't want to be named as a co-defendant

in a defamation case.

[zbdent]

12. Or, maybe CNN realized that Sheehan had a helluva case

and that CNN could be having to cash in some favors just to settle ...

[depakid]

15. Precisely

and this SHOULD be done more often.

Republicans and their far right attack dogs have lied with impunity for far too long now. Hight past time to start hitting them where it hurts.

[bluestateguy]

2. Melanie Morgan needs to be taught a lesson

A Democratic president with the full powers of the Patriot Act and to revoke habeas corpus would have the tools to do it. So would a Democratic Congress with the subpoena power.

[n2doc]

13. I hope the first thing a Dem President/Congress does is repeal those

The "Patriot " Act and War crimes act just signed by W are unconstitutional, immoral and illegal. We are better than that.

[rateyes]

17. We may vote to repeal it, but it won't become law...

without a sig from Beelzebush....Got to gid rid of his ilk from the White House before we will be able to do anything...unless we end up with a veto proof majority.

[pnwmom]

3. Good for Cindy. When you're swift-boated, you have to fight back. n/t

[Kagemusha]

4. Um, can the authors prove their charge is true?

Just 'cause they have a right to print the charge doesn't mean CNN's obligated to provide a megaphone to repeat it...

Calling it censorship is really abusing the term.

[Nite Owl]

5. Thsi should be done

more often! Lies can't be allowed to stand and sometimes the threat of monetary loss is all that will stop them because they don't care if they lie about about someone even after it's been proven wrong they just keep repeating it.

[Joe Chi Minh]

6. Heck, the current Republican Party is probably the first literal

pornocracy since the papal court in the 10th century! Except the age and sex of the courtesans often seems somewhat "idiosyncratic".

Apart from their almost certainly being the heaviest investors in sex industry.

Not that this would have anything at all to do with Cindy Sheehan, who looks set fair to become a very rich woman, I should think. I can't imagine that a jury would be easily persuaded that punitive damages would be a bad idea.

[Phredicles]

7. "Sheehan's refusal to tolerate my blatant lies about her impinges on my

freedom of speech!" :nopity:

[alcibiades_mystery]

8. If your claims are defamatory, you weren't being 'censored'

you screaming fucking douchebags.

Rather, CNN was protecting itself against the liability that your defamatory comments would open up. Too fucking bad for you. If I went around claiming that Morgan and Moy were pedophiles (and it wasn't true), probably nobody would put me on air either. Idiots.

[elehhhhna]

16. "They censored my lies! Wah wah wah."

[The Count]

9. Randi Rhodes called Cindy to confront such a maligner

That's how I know of the accusations.

[Dr Fate]

10. Glad to see that at least one person knows how to fight the media.

I hope one or two elected DEMs take some notes.

[lebkuchen]

11. John Dean sued St. Martin's Press for "Silent Coup" and won

a lot of money (he says in "Conservatives w/o Conscience" that he couldn't discuss the details of the settlement but was "satisfied").

Excellent book, btw. I think it's helping to win the dems votes. I've see Dean's footprint in several editorials since his most recent was published.

[gratuitous]

14. So Melanie Morgan is a "victim"

And Cindy Sheehan, the mother of the KIA, is a "censor"? Nice framing by our friends at CNS. I wonder what color the sky is in their world? I'm guessing a muted shade of orange.

[damntexdem]

18. The suit would be based on what was said in the book, ...

not on what might be said on CNN. That would only compound the tort against which Cindy seeks redress. CNN was smart to not want to be a co-defendent.