Washington (AFP) - Former US president Donald Trump sued CNN on Monday, accusing the cable television news network of defamation and seeking $475 million in punitive damages.
Trump, in the lawsuit filed in a US District Court in Florida, accused CNN of waging a campaign of "libel and slander" against him because it "fears" he will run for president again in 2024.
"CNN has sought to use its massive influence -- purportedly as a 'trusted' news source -- to defame the plaintiff in the minds of its viewers and readers for the purpose of defeating him politically," Trump's lawyers said in the 29-page complaint.
"As a part of its concerted effort to tilt the political balance to the Left, CNN has tried to taint the plaintiff with a series of ever-more scandalous, false, and defamatory labels of 'racist,' 'Russian lackey,' 'insurrectionist,' and ultimately 'Hitler,'" the complaint said.
Trump, who requested a jury trial, had a caustic relationship with CNN and other major news outlets like The New York Times during his presidency, branding them "fake news" and repeatedly raging against them on social media.
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