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If it's libel and slander, how come Crooked Donnie Small Hands isn't threatening to sue?
We do accept that Drumph won the electoral college (in a stunning 48th place as far as EC victories go). Why can't Twitler accept he lost the popular vote by 3 million votes?
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A final reason the President shouldn't - and won't - sue comes from the current state of the law with respect to suits that could be brought against him, in his personal (not official) capacity.
The famous
Clinton v. Jones Supreme Court decision allowed Paula Jones's suit - which was also, in essence, a tort suit - to go forward. But when the
Jones suit spawned the Lewinsky debacle, many commentators questioned the wisdom of the Supreme Court's decision.
That decision, of course, is still the law. Tort suits against Presidents acting in their personal capacity can still be filed. So if the President, on impulse, takes out the family car, and runs over your foot, you can go straight to court.
But at the same time, courts have strong tools at their disposal to make sure that such suits do not interfere with the President's functioning. After all, the President is not just a person, but the head and personification of an entire branch of government. He or she must grapple with domestic and international issues alike. And America's current power in the world means the U.S. President's decisions affect the world.
What can a court do to make sure a President can function in his or her job, even while responding to a civil suit? Scheduling can be arranged to suit the President's needs. And very long stays of an action can be granted, out of respect for the President's schedule.
Stays - which freeze proceedings in place for a time - are a major tool in a judge's arsenal of ways to accommodate a president.
For instance, suppose the
Clinton v. Jones judge had granted a lengthy stay of the action (or even a series of stays, or a stay of discovery)
that was not timed to the expiration of the President's term.
The ruling would not have brought into issue the question the Court subsequently addressed: Can a sitting President be sued in his personal capacity? And the result might have been that the Lewinsky situation would never have occurred -- or that if it had, it would have taken a very different form.
After
Clinton v. Jones, stays can still be granted by judges in light of the President's pressing duties. With troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, and terrorism a major issue, the President's ability to focus is especially important.
But if the President were to divert his
own attention, by suing the
Enquirer or another publication, a court might be quite unsympathetic to his later arguments that a personal action against him ought to be stayed.
For all these reasons, the press has a field day with Presidents - and will continue to - when suits are filed against Presidents in their personal capacity. That's our system. And it's a lot better than having state-controlled media.
Certainly, the clash can get ugly - claiming that someone with a drinking problem who's been sober for almost twenty years, has now relapsed, is a harsh charge. But that's the price of having speech be free.}
If the President Is Libeled, Can He Sue? Should He? | FindLaw
