CNN, Huff Post, & More Hit With $300,000,000 Lawsu
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It has been reported by the Washington Examiner that former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio is suing numerous media outlets for $300 million after they reported that he was a “convicted felon” who had spent time in prison. Among those outlets is far-left CNN.
The Examiner reports:
The lawsuit was filed Monday against CNN and its president Jeff Zucker and anchor Chris Cuomo, the HuffPost and its political reporter Kevin Robillard, and Rolling Stone magazine and staff writer Tessa Stuart.
Arpaio alleged CNN defamed him when Cuomo referred to him as a “convicted felon” in a Jan. 10 broadcast.
“As of today, the CNN Broadcast is still available through Defendant CNN’s website and no efforts have been taken by Defendant CNN, Defendant Cuomo, or Defendant Zucker to correct this false statement,” the lawsuit, which was filed in United States District Court for the District of Columbia, read.
A November 5th article published by HuffPost, which came from Robillard, was also listed in the suit. The article had read that the former Maricopa County Sheriff had been “sent to prison for contempt of court.”
Arpaio states that neither the news outlet nor the reporter specifically responsible have gone back and corrected the fabricated statement as of this past Monday, however an archived webpage of the article appears to show that an edit was made on November 13.
“A previous version of this story mistakenly indicated Joe Arpaio went to prison for his conviction,” an edit at the end of the story stated.
The Washington Examiner reports:
Arpaio also pointed to a Nov. 13 Rolling Stone piece by Stuart, in which he was referred to as an “ex-felon.” The lawsuit acknowledged that Rolling Stone updated the piece to say “Arpaio was convicted of contempt of court, a misdemeanor, in 2017 and pardoned by Trump less than one month later.” The story included an editor’s note at the end noting a change in the story.
“However, as of today, there is no indication on the Rolling Stone Article that a mistake had previously been made in referring to Plaintiff Arpaio as an ‘ex-felon.’ Thus, persons who read the Rolling Stone Article when it falsely referred to Plaintiff Arpaio as an ‘ex-felon’ are not aware that this statement is patently false,” the court documents read.
In August, the former Maricopa County Sheriff lost the Republican Senate primary race in Arizona. In the lawsuit, it is state that he plans on running again in the 2020 race for the Senate seat, which is currently empty, following the passing of the late Senator John McCain.
Arpaio said his “distinguished” 55-year career and his chance at a 2020 Senate run have been “severely harmed” and his reputation has been “severely damaged” by false reports. He’s looking for $300.5 million in damages and legal fees.
The Washington Examiner reports that President Trump pardoned Arpaio in August of 2017, which spared the former Arizona officer from spending time in jail after he was found guilty of criminal contempt after he ignored a court order which stated that he could not detain immigrants simply because they were not legal. The former sheriff denied committing the crime intentionally, however a judge did not accept his argument.
https://www.americanjournalreview.com/cnn-huf...00PM%20AJR