Former President Donald Trump wants CNN to pay a hefty fine for publishing “fake news.”

Monday, Trump launched a lawsuit against the network for its coverage of him, claiming the network is deliberately working against his prospective 2024 candidacy.

Trump is demanding more than $75,000 in compensation damages, $475 million in punitive penalties, and court fees. The lawsuit states that Trump is also pursuing a jury trial for the civil claim.

According to the complaint, CNN has gone out of its way to defame and hurt Trump.

“President Donald J. Trump, has been a long-time critic of the defendant, Cable News Network, Inc. (‘CNN’) — not because CNN does a bad job of reporting the news, but because CNN seeks to create the news,” the lawsuit said.

“Beyond simply highlighting any negative information about the plaintiff and ignoring all positive information about him, 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, culminating in CNN claiming credit for ‘[getting] Trump out’ in the 2020 presidential election,” the lawsuit continued.

“CNN’s campaign of dissuasion in the form of libel and slander against the plaintiff has only escalated in recent months as CNN fears the plaintiff will run for president in 2024,” the lawsuit said.

Calling CNN’s coverage of him “part of its concerted effort to tilt the political balance to the Left,” the lawsuit said the use of “scandalous, false and defamatory labels” rises to the level of a “reckless disregard for the truth.”

“CNN has been given the dreaded ‘Pants on Fire!’ designation by PolitiFact for its stories comparing Trump to Hitler. Still, it persists, requiring the time and expense of filing the instant lawsuit,” the complaint said.

More on this story via The Western Journal:

“CNN has undertaken a smear campaign to malign the plaintiff with a barrage of negative associations and innuendos, broadcasting commentary that he is like a cult leader, a Russian lackey, a dog whistler to white supremacists and a racist. It is the stuff of tabloids cloaked as ‘honored’ news,” the complaint wrote, citing instances when each term was used.

The lawsuit focuses on comparison between Trump and Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, saying, “CNN’s persistent use of ever-increasing defamatory characterizations of the Plaintiff up to and including comparing him to Hitler and Nazism demonstrates that it published its defamatory statements about the Plaintiff with actual malice.” CONTINUE READING…