Trump sends cease and desist demanding CNN delete 'Big Lie' and 'lying' from stories about the former president

Former President Donald Trump has decided to go after CNN in his latest litigation. According to documents sent to the network, Trump is demanding that the network eliminate any mention of the phrase "the big lie" and any implication that he lied about the 2020 election being stolen.

The report comes the day after it was revealed that Trump was likely part of the grand jury's investigation into the attempt to overthrow the 2020 election. Eliminating the phrases on a news website, however, would not cover up Trump's actions around the election. The letter says that it was sent on July 21, 2022, however.

If Trump were to sue CNN for defamation he would be forced to prove that CNN knowingly lied when they claimed that Trump was lying about the 2020 election. Such a case would also allow the network to request a number of documents and information in the discovery phase from Trump and his office post-presidency.

“I have notified CNN of my intent to file a lawsuit over their repeated defamatory statements against me,” Trump's statement said. “I will also be commencing actions against other media outlets who have defamed me and defrauded the public regarding the overwhelming evidence of fraud throughout the 2020 election.”

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“Accordingly, I hereby demand on behalf of President Donald Trump that CNN (1) immediately take down the false and defamatory publications, (2) immediately issue a full and fair retraction of the statements identified herein in as conspicuous a manner as they were originally published, and (3) immediately cease and desist from its continued use of ‘Big Lie’ and ‘lying’ when describing President Trump’s subjective belief regarding the integrity of the 2020 election,” the letter stated.

For over a year the media has referred to the false claims that Joe Biden stole the election from Trump a "lie," and this is Trump's first attempt to silence the accusations.

Former President Donald Trump said in a statement Wednesday that he had notified CNN he was intending to file a defamation lawsuit against the news outlet for its refusal to back his discredited claims that election fraud accounted for his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential race.

Demanding an elimination of the term "big lie" in a lawsuit, if Trump makes good on the threat, would mean a more frequent use of the term "big lie" in reporting on his demand to stop the use of the term.

Read an excerpt of the letter below or at this link.