usmbguest5318
Gold Member
Roy Moore's threat that he's going to sue The Washington Post (WaPo) is emptier than a winter rain barrel. In order to prevail in a libel suit, one must:
- Prove that the defendant made (in the case of libel, published) a false and defamatory statement concerning the plaintiff --> Well, Moore there's no evidence that Moore's accusers' statements are false. Proving a statement is false is not at all the same as showing that it might not be true.
- Prove that the allegedly libelous party knew they were making an untrue defamatory statement --> "If the person defamed was a public figure, the person making the defamatory statement can only be held liable for defamation if he/she knew that the statement was false or if he/she acted with reckless disregard as to the truth or falsity of the statement." There's no way anyone publishing information having the level of detail and the extent of corroborating sources and references the WaPo did can be shown to have violated that standard.