- Lindsey Halligan, Donald Trump’s lawyer, says she plans to sue CNN for defamation.
- The network discredited the former president as the “biggest lie” of election fraud.
- Halligan said on Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast that the phrase “is actually associated with Adolf Hitler.”
In an interview with Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast, Donald Trump’s lawyer said the network plans to sue CNN for defamation over its reporting on the former president’s election fraud claims.
“CNN called Trump a liar, and called his questions about voter fraud The Big Lie, which is actually about Adolf Hitler,” said Lindsey Halligan, a Florida attorney.
The German term for “the big lie” was Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” in his book “Mein Kampf” to describe such a hideous lie that no one would believe that anyone would “have the audacity to distort the truth in the name of it.”
On Wednesday, Trump released a 282-page statement detailing his intention to sue CNN over its baseless voter fraud claims, which he called “The Big Lie.” It defines the word “false” in the sentence as something known or believed by the speaker.
“In this instance, President Trump’s comments are not false: He firmly believes that the outcome of the 2020 presidential election was swayed by fraudulent voting activity in several key states,” the former president’s letter read.
Some legal experts believe Trump’s stance could be key to the defense of voter fraud, making it harder to prove criminal intent. However, Trump’s “willful blindness” to the facts of the case may, in fact, prove his motive and be used as evidence.
Claims of voter fraud by the former president have been repeatedly denied by the media as well as conservative politicians, Trump administration lawyers and Trump allies.
“So it’s very simple: if you want to call someone a liar, back it up with researched and well-founded facts. Otherwise, don’t report it, don’t twist the truth,” Halligan said in an interview. The War Room Podcast. “CNN responded to our letter today advising that they will not be returning the statements. I believe they will be filing a lawsuit soon.”
According to the latest information through the Florida Bar Association, Halligan was previously employed by the law firm Cole, Scott & Kissan, which specialized in property insurance claims, but her profile has since been removed from their website. It is unclear where she currently practices law.
Halligan did not immediately respond to an internal request for comment.
