JUST IN: Trump Officially Launches Sweeping Lawsuit Against Media, Pollster

President-elect Donald Trump is making good on his promise to seek retribution against mainstream media outlets he’s accused of spreading fake news during the election.

With the swipe of a pen, the incoming president authorized a sweeping lawsuit against the Des Moines Register and its top pollster, accusing the outlet of maliciously fabricating a poll released days before the election showing Trump losing by double digits. The final result was almost a mirror opposite, with President Trump defeating Vice President Kamala Harris 55.7% to 42.5% among Iowa voters. J. Ann Selzer, the state’s most recognizable pollster for decades, resigned following the election.

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The suit, reported by CNN, does not rely on a typical claim of defamation and instead accuses the paper and Selzer of violating the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act, which prohibits deception when advertising or selling merchandise. At issue is a poll of 808 registered Hawkeye voters showing Vice President Harris leading President-elect Trump 47% to 44% — a shocking result that immediately buoyed Harris’s hopes of upsetting a state that observers believed would easily go for Trump.

“Defendants and their cohorts in the Democrat Party hoped that the Harris Poll would create a false narrative of inevitability for Harris in the final week of the 2024 Presidential Election. Instead, the November 5 Election was a monumental victory for President Trump in both the Electoral College and the Popular Vote, an overwhelming mandate for his America First principles, and the consignment of the radical socialist agenda to the dustbin of history,” Trump’s attorneys wrote.

Selzer, who did not respond to CNN’s request for comment, is the face of the second media outlet Trump has dragged into court in less than a week. Over the weekend, ABC News announced it would pay the Republican $16 million to settle a defamation claim centered on a statement by anchor George Stephanopoulos falsely accusing him of rape during a discussion that inaccurately portrayed the E. Jean Carroll case. The network will also be required to post a disclaimer on its website stating that Stephanopoulos and his staff “regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump.”

Although media observers say both cases could have a chilling effect on how the press covers a second Trump administration, Trump himself is eager to escalate his various tabloid feuds without fear of repercussions.  “It costs a lot of money to do it, but we have to straighten out the press,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort following the ABC settlement, Reuters reported. Speaking about the Des Moines Register poll, he added, “It was a fraud, and it was election interference.”

Separately, President-elect Trump has filed suit against CBS, accusing the network of selectively editing its “60 Minutes” interview with Harris. The suit, which seeks $1 billion in damages, was opposed by CBS in a filing, calling it “completely without merit.”

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