President Donald Trump declared victory Wednesday after a Florida appellate court sided with him in a defamation lawsuit against the Pulitzer Prize Board and allowed the case to move forward.
Trump quickly lauded the ruling in Truth Social post as a “major win” in his effort to challenge Pulitzer Prizes awarded to The New York Times and the Washington Post related to their coverage of Russian election interference – reports which he continues to attack as “fake” and “malicious.”
“BREAKING! In a major WIN in our powerful lawsuit against the Pulitzer Prize Board regarding the illegal and defamatory ‘Award’ of their once highly respected ‘Prize,’ to fake, malicious stories on the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, by the Failing New York Times and the Washington Compost, the Florida Appellate Court viciously rejected the Defendants’ corrupt attempt to halt the case,” Trump wrote Wednesday.
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He went on to accuse the Pulitzer board of awarding prizes for “totally incorrect reporting” that was “the exact opposition of the TRUTH.”
“Now they admit it was a SCAM, never happened, and their reporting was totally wrong,” Trump claimed to his followers Wednesday. “They’ll have to give back their ‘Award,’ he added. “They were awarded for false reporting, and we can’t let that happen in the United States of America. We are holding the Fake News Media responsible for their LIES to the American People, so we can, together, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Trump’s claim of victory came after the Fourth District Court of Appeal rejected the board’s attempt to pause the case until the MAGA leader’s current term in office concludes, according to Law & Crime. The seven-page opinion found that the board failed to show any “constitutional conflicts” requiring a delay, the legal publication reported.