Trump Threatens $5 Billion Defamation Suit Over Guard Crime Report
President Donald Trump is threatening a defamation lawsuit seeking at least $5 billion unless the Center for American Progress retracts a July crime report, apologizes and pays compensation by 5 p.m. Central today.[1]
The demand letter was sent on August 17 by Trump's lawyer Alejandro Brito and set the 5 p.m. Central deadline for CAP to retract, apologize and pay or face a lawsuit.[1] CAP has defended the report as factual analysis, and CAP President Neera Tanden and CAP attorney Kevin Metz both rejected the demand and framed the dispute as a First Amendment issue.[1]
CAP's July report found no evidence that 2025 National Guard deployments to several U.S. cities reduced violent crime.[1] A CBS News legal expert said proving defamation against a public figure would require showing actual malice, making a statistical dispute unlikely to clear that bar.[1]
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📌 Key Facts
- On August 17, 2026, Trump's lawyer Alejandro Brito sent a demand letter to the Center for American Progress over its July crime report.
- The letter set a 5 p.m. Central deadline on August 21, 2026, for CAP to retract the report, apologize and pay compensation, or face a lawsuit seeking at least $5 billion.
- CAP's report found no evidence that 2025 National Guard deployments to several U.S. cities reduced violent crime, a conclusion CAP is publicly defending as factual analysis.
- CAP President Neera Tanden and CAP attorney Kevin Metz both issued statements rejecting the demand and framing the dispute as a First Amendment issue.
- A CBS News legal expert noted that proving defamation against a public figure would require showing actual malice and that a dispute over statistics is unlikely to meet that standard.
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