FIRE statement on Trump lawsuit against veteran Iowa pollster: President Trump and his two co-plaintiffs filed a notice of dismissal of their claims against Iowa pollster J. Ann Selzer and the Des Moines Register after losing a bid to remand the case to state court. This maneuver was not in response to any settlement and is a transparent attempt to avoid federal court review of the president's transparently frivolous claims. The case was refiled in state court today, one day before an Iowa law intended to provide strong protections against baseless claims like these — an “anti-SLAPP” statute — goes into effect. The procedural gamesmanship is obvious and improper. Whatever court ultimately reviews this matter, FIRE will defend J. Ann Selzer's First Amendment rights, and we remain confident the courts will see through this sham lawsuit.
Punishing someone for their political prediction is about as unconstitutional as it gets. Read about FIRE's defense of J. Ann Selzer, from January 👇
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