Trump Adviser Chris LaCivita Settles Defamation Suit With The Daily Beast
Senior Trump political adviser Chris LaCivita has settled his federal defamation lawsuit against The Daily Beast over a 2024 story alleging he made tens of millions from Trump’s campaign, dropping the case in exchange for the outlet appending an editor’s note but receiving no money. The Virginia suit, filed in March 2025, challenged an article that initially said LaCivita made $22 million, later edited to $19.2 million, and accused the site of damaging his reputation as an "honest" operative. Under the deal, The Daily Beast added a note saying it "corrected and clarified" its reporting on compensation and removed an uneditable podcast episode, while leaving the core story text intact. The outlet’s executive editor told staff the outcome was a victory that showed it would stand by its reporting despite legal threats, while LaCivita’s attorney Mark Geragos publicly cast the note as a "white flag of surrender" and "total capitulation." The case is one of several Trump‑world defamation actions against media organizations in the post‑2024 landscape, and the no‑payout settlement will be read inside newsrooms and campaigns as a data point on how far such suits actually get.
📌 Key Facts
- LaCivita sued The Daily Beast in March 2025 in Virginia federal court over an October 2024 story on his Trump campaign compensation.
- The Daily Beast had already revised its figure from $22 million to $19.2 million and deleted a related podcast before the suit settled.
- Settlement terms: LaCivita dropped the case in exchange for an editor’s note clarifying and correcting the compensation reporting; no damages were paid.
- The Daily Beast leadership framed the outcome as a win that preserved its reporting, while LaCivita’s lawyer characterized the note as a "journalistic white flag of surrender."
📊 Relevant Data
Political media consultants typically earn a 10-15 percent commission on each ad buy they place for campaigns.
How Political Consulting Became a Multibillion Dollar Racket — The American Prospect
The Trump campaign spent about $425 million on advertising in the 2024 presidential race.
The final price tag on 2024 political advertising: Almost $11 billion — NBC News
ABC News settled a defamation lawsuit brought by Donald Trump for $15 million in 2024.
USA: Trump’s vengeful lawsuits against media lack legal basis, but harm American press freedom — Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Donald Trump filed a $10 billion defamation lawsuit against the BBC in December 2025.
Trump's bizarre $10 billion BBC lawsuit has even more holes than his case against the Times — CNN
📰 Source Timeline (1)
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