Trump’s Lawsuit Against Iowa Newspaper and Pollster Ann Selzer Thrown Out

Iowa district judge Scott Beattie on Wednesday (September 23) dismissed President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the Des Moines Register and pollster J. Ann Selzer, grounding the decision in the First Amendment protections of the U.S. Constitution.

The lawsuit, filed in late 2024, related to a poll published on November 2, 2024, in which Selzer showed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris leading Trump by 3 points in Iowa. The president won the state in the election, despite the poll’s result.

In his decision, the judge stressed that the case raised the question of whether speech protected at the highest level by the First Amendment could be turned into legal liability: “In essence, plaintiffs’ petition seeks to stretch Iowa statutory and common law beyond current limits, turning speech that enjoys the highest category of First Amendment protection into liability.”

The decision was welcomed by the free-speech group FIRE, which represented Selzer in the proceedings. Chief counsel Bob Corn-Revere said: “This lawsuit was ridiculous from the start and should never have been brought.” The White House did not react immediately after the decision was announced.

The dismissal of the lawsuit comes at a time when the administration’s relationship with the media is being widely discussed: in a separate court hearing, another judge said Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House did not appear to be consistent with previous federal appeals court decisions.

Trump has repeatedly urged broadcasters to drop news programs he dislikes, asked the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to strip licenses from unwanted stations, filed several lawsuits against media outlets and banned several media from participating in White House activities.

Source: Reuters