Donald Trump sues CNN for defamation, claiming $475 million in damages

In this file photo taken on December 15, 2015, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is introduced during the CNN presidential debate at The Venetian Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada. Credit: AFP File Photo

Former US president Donald Trump sued CNN for defamation on Monday, seeking $475 million in punitive damages and claiming that the network had carried out a "campaign of libel and slander" against him.

Trump claims in his lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that the network had used its influence as a leading news organization to defeat him politically.

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CNN declined to comment on the case.

Trump claims in the lawsuit that CNN has used such defamatory labels against him as "racist," "Russian lackey," "insurrectionist" and "Hitler."

The lawsuit comes as the former president faces a criminal investigation by the Justice Department for retaining government records at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after leaving office in January 2021.