Trump's lawsuit against Pulitzer Prize board members moves forward after judge denies temporary stay request
A judge ruled in favor of President Trump after the Pulitzer Prize board members requested a temporary stay in his defamation lawsuit against them, which was denied.
President Donald Trump scored yet another victory in his legal battle against the members of the Pulitzer Prize Board after a judge denied their request for a temporary stay on his lawsuit against them.
In 2022, Trump filed a defamation lawsuit against the Pulitzer Prize Board over the 2018 National Reporting prizes given to the New York Times and Washington Post for coverage of the "now-debunked theory" of alleged collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Judge Robert L. Pegg of the 19th Judicial Circuit Court in Okeechobee County, Florida, rejected the argument made by the Pulitzer Prize board members, who insisted on having the temporary stay in place while Trump was in office and that his obligations regarding the lawsuit could "interfere with his duties as president as he could not devote his time and energy to the problems and issues facing the nation."
Trump's lawyers argued the stay request had no standing since such a request would be in the prerogative of the plaintiff.
"Plaintiff’s arguments are well taken. Should the duties of the President interfere with his ability to perform his obligations in this action, he is certainly entitled to seek the appropriate relief," Pegg ruled Monday. "Should he not do so, yet not comply with the rules of this court, defendants may apply for the appropriate sanctions as they would against any other plaintiff… Defendants would not be precluded from seeking another stay of the proceeding if plaintiff fails to perform his obligations under Florida law and the rules of civil procedure."
"It is therefore ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the defendant’s be, Motion to Temporarily Stay Civil Action Given Plaintiff’s Status as President of the United States be and the same is hereby DENIED," Pegg ruled.
"This latest ruling is an unequivocal victory for President Donald J. Trump in his pursuit of justice against the Pulitzer Prize board members for their dishonest and defamatory conduct. President Trump is committed to holding those who traffic in fake news, lies and smears to account and he looks forward to seeing his powerful cases through to a just conclusion," Quincy Bird, attorney for President Trump, told Fox News Digital.
Trump's attorneys called the temporary stay request "nothing more than an inappropriate attempt to delay this case, avoid the disclosure of evidence supporting the allegations in the Amended Complaint demonstrating a years-long conspiracy between Defendants, and to prolong Defendants’ defamation of President Trump."
"Allowing any president to pursue civil claims against private citizens in state court while simultaneously claiming that private citizens cannot pursue civil claims against him in the same exact court is extremely troubling and should raise concerns for all Americans. The Pulitzer Board is evaluating next steps and remains committed to continuing our defense of journalism," the sitting Pulitzer board told Fox News Digital in a statement.
TRUMP SCORES BIG LEGAL WIN AGAINST PULITZER PRIZE BOARD MEMBERS AS LAWSUIT MOVIES TO DISCOVERY
The lawsuit states that a "demonstrably false connection was and remains the stated basis" for the coverage that received the prestigious award.
The staff of the Times and Post shared the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for "deeply sourced, relentlessly reported coverage in the public interest that dramatically furthered the nation’s understanding of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and its connections to the Trump campaign, the President-elect’s transition team and his eventual administration," according to the Pulitzer website.
"A large swath of Americans had a tremendous misunderstanding of the truth at the time the Times’ and the Post’s propagation of the Russia Collusion Hoax dominated the media," the complaint states. "Remarkably, they were rewarded for lying to the American public."
The complaint made a series of points indicating why it feels the Pulitzer Prize-winning stories are unworthy of the honor, including Special Counsel Robert Mueller failing to find evidence of collusion, and a DOJ Inspector General Report outlining malfeasance by federal investigators.
Trump’s team previously called for "a full and fair correction, apology, or retraction" to be issued, in addition to the 2018 prizes being rescinded, but the Pulitzer Prize Board declared the awards would stand.
"The Pulitzer Prize Board has an established, formal process by which complaints against winning entries are carefully reviewed. In the last three years, the Pulitzer Board has received inquiries, including from former President Donald Trump, about submissions from The New York Times and The Washington Post on Russian interference in the U.S. election and its connections to the Trump campaign – submissions that jointly won the 2018 National Reporting prize," the Pulitzer Prize Board previously wrote.
The case against the Pulitzer board members is one of many legal fronts, criminal and civil, being coordinated by Trump’s Senior Counsel Boris Epshteyn.
Fox News' Brian Flood contributed to this report.
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