CNN Sued by Trump Admin Official Kash Patel in $50M Defamation Lawsuit

Kash Patel, the chief of staff to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, has filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit against CNN and several of its top reporters, claiming the liberal network published false statements and promoted “unfounded left-wing political narratives” by painting Patel as a pro-Trump conspiracy theorist seeking to smear President-elect Joe Biden.

The complaint filed on Friday in Virginia Circuit Court named CNN reporters Barbara Starr, Zachary Cohen, Ryan Browne, Alex Marquardt and Nicole Gaouette as defendants, in addition to the network itself. It claims CNN “deliberately or recklessly conveyed a false message” to sensationalize the “news” and humiliate Patel.

Patel, who was previously a top aide to Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., and a Trump advisor, claims CNN published a series of articles from Nov. 24 through Dec. 4 penned by the defendants that “contain a series of false and defamatory statements” about him, according to the complaint.

The complaint says defamatory statements in the articles include, “Trump loyalist connected to Biden conspiracy theories is leading Pentagon transition,” “Kash Patel, a Trump loyalist, … was connected to efforts to spread conspiracy theories about Joe Biden,” Kash “has also worked to discredit Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election,” “Pentagon blocked Biden’s intelligence transition team from meeting with agencies,” and “Defense Department transition office … is led by a Trump loyalist connected to efforts to spread conspiracy theories about the President-elect,” among other similar examples.  

Patel’s legal team said CNN retaliated against him because he helped poke holes in the network’s narrative that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia before the 2016 election.

CNN did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Washington Examiner with more:

The complaint alleges the network “attacked” Patel “because CNN was deeply invested in promoting the Russia collusion hoax and the fraudulent ‘dossier’ manufactured by Fusion GPS.”

Patel’s attorney, Steven Biss, has represented California Rep. Devin Nunes, Patel’s former boss, in multiple lawsuits, including a defamation suit against CNN.

“The Defendants fabricated the Defamatory Statements and knew, therefore, that the statements were false. They knew that Kash was not the source of a single conspiracy theory and had no connection to any conspiracy theory about Biden,” Biss argued. “Defendants provide no evidence or example of any stories spread by Kash about Biden because there are none. CNN reported on the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry and read the Democrats’ report, and knew, therefore, that no evidence was uncovered connecting Kash.”

Biss argued that CNN “harbored extreme professional and personal animus, bias, spite, and ill-will towards Kash as a result of Kash’s revelations of CNN’s corrupt business practices and deceitful misreporting."

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CNN has a bad habit of getting sued lately...