ANALYSIS: Trump Almost Never Follows Through on Lawsuits

After the New York Times published the stories of multiple women alleging Donald Trump sexually assaulted them, the Trump team is apparently firing back with a lawsuit. However, USA Today has looked through about 4,000 lawsuits either filed by or against Donald Trump (as an aside, holy crap that so, so very many lawsuits), and none of the ones concerning what other people have said about Trump really seem to actually happen.

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But an analysis of about 4,000 lawsuits filed by and against Trump and his companies shows that he rarely follows through with lawsuits over people’s words. He has won only one such case, and the ultimate disposition of that is in dispute.

The Republican presidential candidate has threatened political ad-makers, a rapper, documentary filmmakers, a Palm Beach civic club’s newsletter and the Better Business Bureau for lowering its rating of Trump University. He’s vowed to sue multiple news organizations including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Postand USA TODAY. He didn’t follow through with any of those, though he did sue comedian Bill Maher, an author over a single line in a 276-page book, and Miss Pennsylvania.

A USA TODAY Network analysis of the lawsuits involving Trump and his companies includes only six in which the Trump team has formally claimed someone libeled, slandered or defamed him, and a few other court cases where he used other legal avenues to fight what someone said about him. At least one Trump target filed a counter-claim for harassment and won.

As I mentioned last night, a suit like this is incredibly difficult to win. Donald Trump is a public figure, and it is going to be extremely difficult to prove that the New York Times intended any actual malice against Trump in publishing the story. Much like the presidential campaign he’s embarked on, the point of these lawsuits isn’t to win. Instead, he intends to drain the resources of those he is in court with until they can no longer keep up.

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It is intimidation at its finest, and it works, and his supporters just eat it up this year. He has no case a vast majority of the time, but instead just likes to threaten and intimidate people. It’s the exact same reason he feels he can walk up to women and grab them by the… wherever. It’s a power play. “I’m better, richer, and more powerful than you. Watch me prove it.”

He is simply unfit for the office he seeks. Granted, so is everyone else running.

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