Bernie Sanders on press freedom: what the evidence says · JRE #2341
SUBJECT: PRESS FREEDOM
Not a true/false call. Every claim is logged with its sources; read the exhibits below.
Well, he has sued ABC. He has sued Metta. He is suing the Des Moines Register because of a poll that came out during the campaign that he didn't like. He is suing CBS for this Kamala Harris interview.
What the evidence says 01 / RECORD
All four lawsuits Sanders lists are documented. ABC News agreed in December 2024 to pay $15 million toward Trump's presidential library to settle his defamation suit over anchor George Stephanopoulos's on-air claim that Trump had been found liable for rape. Meta agreed in January 2025 to pay $25 million (about $22 million to the library fund) to settle Trump's suit over the suspension of his Facebook and Instagram accounts after January 6, 2021. Trump sued The Des Moines Register, its parent Gannett, and pollster J. Ann Selzer in December 2024 over a pre-election Iowa poll that showed Kamala Harris leading, a race Trump then won by double digits. And Paramount, CBS's parent, later agreed to pay $16 million to settle Trump's suit alleging that 60 Minutes deceptively edited its Kamala Harris interview. The claim is accurate.