Trump just left himself vulnerable to 'very invasive' legal probe with new threat: expert

President Donald Trump has put himself in legal jeopardy with his latest threat to sue a liberal think tank, a defamation attorney told Raw Story.

Last week, Trump threatened to sue the Center for American Progress, a liberal Washington think tank, after it released a report that called into question the effectiveness of Trump's National Guard deployment in the District. Trump threatened the think tank with a $5 billion lawsuit if it did not retract the report, which concluded that crime rates are not statistically different compared to before the deployment occurred.

Tre Lovell, a defamation attorney, told Raw Story in an interview that Trump's threat was another attempt to "intimidate the organization" rather than pursue a legitimate claim. However, the president's blustering could force him into a corner on one particular issue that Trump has sought to avoid since his first administration, Lovell warned.

"Suing media companies and organizations for defamation based upon negative reporting about the President can severely backfire since the very reason the First Amendment was enacted was to allow public criticism of leaders and members of government," Lovell said. "Trump will only subject himself to anti-SLAPP judgments against him and/or very invasive discovery into his finances and actions behind the scenes, with very little upside."

This is not the first time Trump has threatened to sue a liberal group for defamation after they questioned some of his claims.

Trump sued a TV station in Wisconsin after it aired an ad attacking his response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but a judge later dismissed the case. He has also pushed federal prosecutors to look into liberal financier George Soros' foundation, and called on the Justice Department to investigate alleged Antifa organizations across the country.

Trump has also attacked media organizations and private individuals with defamation claims. He's currently pursuing a $10 billion lawsuit against the BBC for allegedly defaming him in the outlet's coverage of the Jan. 6 insurrection. Trump was also forced to pay columnist E. Jean Carroll more than $5 million after a jury found he defamed her.

Lovell noted that Trump's proclivity to threaten legal action against his enemies could put the president in hot water.

"Even if the case were allowed to move forward, CAP would be entitled to discovery over all aspects of having deployed the National Guard, which could bear facts that may be hurtful to Trump," Lovell said. "In addition, CAP would be able to do discovery on Trump’s financials in order to challenge the damages claim, which Trump is already greatly resisting in the BBC defamation case."