Trump Campaign Suing CNN Over ‘False And Defamatory’ Statements, Seeking Millions In Damages

President Donald Trump‘s reelection campaign is suing CNN over “false and defamatory” statements about seeking Russia’s help in the 2020 election.

The libel suit, filed Friday, alleges that CNN was aware the statements were false and published it to hurt Trump’s campaign.

According to Fox News, which obtained a copy of the complaint, it alleged that CNN said Trump’s campaign “assessed the potential risks and benefits of again seeking Russia’s help in 2020 and has decided to leave that option on the table.”

The complaint said CNN was aware of the claim’s falsity, “because there was an extensive record of statements from the Campaign and the administration expressly disavowing any intention to seek Russian assistance.”

Senior Legal Adviser to Trump’s campaign, Jenna Ellis, told Fox that the lawsuit was filed in an attempt to “hold the publishers accountable for their reckless false reporting and also to establish the truth.”

“The complaint alleges CNN was aware of the falsity at the time it published them but did so for the intentional purpose of hurting the campaign while misleading its own readers in the process… the campaign filed this lawsuit against CNN and the preceding suits against The New York Times and The Washington Post to hold the publishers accountable for their reckless false reporting and also to establish the truth,” Ellis said.

She continued that the suit was not an attack on the freedom of the press.

“False statements are not protected under the U.S. Constitution; therefore, these suits will have no chilling effect on freedom of the press,” Ellis said. “If journalists are more accurate in their statements and reporting, that would be a positive development, but not why these suits were filed.”

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According to the complaint, Trump’s legal team previously requested that CNN retract and apologize for the claim, but CNN executives refused. The Trump campaign now seeks “millions of dollars” in its suit.