January 4, 2018

The President of the United States Threatens Lawsuit to Stop Publication of a Book

Chris Kleponis/CNP via ZUMA

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Holy shit:

A lawyer representing President Trump sought Thursday to stop the publication of a new behind-the-scenes book about the White House that has already led Trump to angrily decry his former chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon. The legal notice — addressed to author Michael Wolff and the president of the book’s publisher — said Trump’s lawyers were pursuing possible charges including libel in connection with the forthcoming book, “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House.”

The letter by Beverly Hills-based attorney Charles J. Harder demanded the publisher, Henry Holt and Co., “immediately cease and desist from any further publication, release or dissemination of the book” or excerpts and summaries of its contents. The lawyers also seek a full copy of the book as part of their investigation.

Threatening to sue Bannon was barmy enough, but demanding that a book publisher halt release of a book? That’s stone crazy. Hell, courts wouldn’t block publication of the Pentagon Papers, let alone a tittle-tattle account of a presidential administration. Trump has just insured that Wolff’s book will be the biggest bestseller of the year.

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

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