BREAKING : Trump Weighs Lawsuit Against MSNBC for Revealing his Taxes
On Tuesday night, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow revealed President Trump’s 2005 tax to the world, proving once and for all that President Trump paid a lot in taxes, $38 million to be exact.
What she did may have violated federal privacy laws, and reports indicate that President Trump is considering a lawsuit against MSNBC and possibly the journalist who provided the documents.
From Fox Business
Trump’s tax returns were published Tuesday by DCReport.org, a website operated by David Cay Johnston, a Pulitzer Prize winning investigative reporter. They were simultaneously aired on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show.”
Legal experts say any case would be a long-shot given First Amendment protections for journalists and an important Supreme Court precedent that dates back to the famous 1971 “Pentagon Papers” case. Trump would also have to show that the journalists were complicit in stealing his tax returns—which both Johnston and Maddow have denied.
“Trump’s lawyers could try and sue but they will get the crap kicked out of them in court,” said veteran white collar attorney Stanley Arkin. “It’s the First Amendment. What are they going to sue them for? Stealing the returns? Nobody made any money out of it. Nobody was bribed.”
White House spokeswoman Hope Hicks would neither confirm nor deny the president’s interest in a possible lawsuit against MSNBC or Johnston.
In a statement, MSNBC told FOX Business: “There is no legal prohibition against journalists publishing these tax returns. It is protected by the First Amendment and Supreme Court precedent.
Johnston, who obtained the tax documents before appearing on MSNBC, wrote a biography called “The Making of Donald Trump” in 2016 and won the Pulitzer Prize at The New York Times for exposing loopholes and inequities in the U.S. tax code. He didn’t respond to emails or telephone calls for comment. During the MSNBC broadcast, Johnston said he received Trump’s tax documents anonymously through the mail.
Amy Moreno is a Published Author, Pug Lover & Game of Thrones Nerd. You can reach her on Facebook here.
Please, please, please SUE THEM! That seems to be the only way they get the message to not be reckless and break the laws and rights of people….SUE THE PANTS OFF OF THEM!!!! Especially MSNBC!!!
+Trump should sue and stop this double standard on who has to obey the laws….First Amendment does not give you the right to yell “fire” in a crowded theater and it doesn’t give you a right to bypass privacy laws.
The whole world has seen, read and heard All of MSM, have been acting like vigilantes on a mission to attack and destroy president Trump at every chance they get. So I hope he wins. They didn’t have the authorization to expose his tax returns on live TV for all the world to see. Anyone can receive an anonymous letter in their mail box but if you know it’s not yours it and it belongs to someone else did they have a right to go live on TV media to expose someone else private information especially their tax returns? They acted like judge and jury on their own their disgraceful intent to expose and attack Trump and violate his personal privacy. Apparently the so called mystery person anonymously putting president Trump tax returns in David Cay Johnston mailbox, knew David Cay Johnston and MSNBC Rachel Maddow would take the cake and be foolish enough to expose. Because they have evil intentions against Trump.
Madcow conspired to commit a crime by illegally airing Pres. Trumps tax documents. Donald…take her to court!!