Trump's big tech lawsuit is 'dead on arrival' -- and 'his lawyers know it': MSNBC's Barbara McQuade
Screen cap / MSNBC

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced that he was suing major social media platforms that have banned him for his role in inciting the violent attack on the United States Capitol building this year.

Trump claimed during his press conference that the lawsuit would hold tech giants "very accountable," but legal experts who have reviewed the claim have said it has no shot of actually succeeding in forcing Twitter and Facebook to let Trump back on.

MSNBC legal analyst Barbara McQuade similarly said on Wednesday that Trump's suit is "dead on arrival" and she speculated that he only filed it to gin up easy media attention.

"I think that President Trump and his lawyers know it, I think this is more of a PR stunt than a legal case," she said. "They know this case will be summarily dismissed, and that just adds to the talking points that even the courts are out to get him."

McQuade then explained the courts' views on the First Amendment have been clear for decades.

"It states, 'Congress shall pass no law' -- the courts have interpreted that to mean any form of government, and so whether it is the executive or the legislative branch... the government can't restrict free speech," she said. "But Google and Twitter are private actors, and just as we could throw somebody out of our homes if they were unwanted guests, and just as Google and Twitter could do the same."

Watch the video below.



Trump's big tech lawsuit is 'dead on arrival' -- and 'his lawyers know it'www.youtube.com