Sheriff Joe Arpaio just fired a shot across the media’s bow and if it hits it is game over for CNN. Now, before you think how could Arpaio sink CNN or even damage the network remember words matter.
If Arpaio is correct, and it seems like he has a good case, CNN and Rolling Stone and others certainly did grievous harm to his reputation.
The other defendants in the complaint are CNN chief Jeff Zucker, CNN primetime anchor Chris Cuomo, Rolling Stone magazine and the Huffington Post.
These are the leading lights of the liberal media complex and a win would be devastating for the whole lot.
The simple fact is that sheriff Arpaio was found guilty of a misdemeanor contempt of court violation, not a felony. Further, no one thought he would go to jail and many thought on appeal he would win but Trump stepped in and pardoned him.
In other words, they knew he was not a felon and smeared him anyway to hurt both Arpaio and Trump.
From The Washington Times: Former Arizona lawman Joe Arpaio sued CNN on Monday, arguing the cable outlet inaccurately labeled him a “felon” in a broadcast and has made no efforts to correct its mistake.
In his lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Washington, D.C., Mr. Arpaio also sued Huffington Post and Rolling Stone, which he says also made inaccurate statements about his legal troubles.
Huffington Post reported that he was “sent to prison” for his conviction, but he says he never served a day. He said the article was uncorrected at the time of his lawsuit — though by Monday night a correction had been appended.
Rolling Stone did “silently” change a web story inaccurately labeling him an “ex-felon,” Mr. Arpaio says, but he argued that without alerting readers to the change anyone who read the original piece wouldn’t know of the inaccuracy.
The CNN broadcast remained on the company’s website Monday night, including the section where anchor Chris Cuomo called Mr. Arpaio a “convicted felon.”
Mr. Arpaio, who lost in the GOP primary race for a U.S. Senate seat from Arizona this year, says in the lawsuit he plans to run again in 2020, and the inaccuracies were an attempt by the “leftist” news outlets to“destroy” his chances.
He said each instance was an act of “malice” — a key hurdle for a defamation lawsuit where a public figure is involved.
“As a direct and proximate result of Defendants and their agents’ extreme, outrageous and malicious conduct set forth above, Plaintiff Arpaio has been the subject of widespread ridicule and humiliation and has suffered severe loss of reputation, which has in turn also caused him pain and financial damage,” his lawyer, Larry Klayman, said in the lawsuit.
He is seeking more than $300 million in damages.
“It’s time that someone stood up to the Left’s ‘Fake News’ media, which is bent on destroying anyone who is a supporter of the president and in particular Sheriff Arpaio. My client will not be bullied by the likes of Jeff Zucker, Chris Cuomo, the Huffington Post, and Rolling Stone, as he alone has the courage to stand up for not just himself, the president of the United States but also all fair-minded and ethical Americans,” Larry Klayman Arpaio’s lawyer said.
