



Trump knows that he doesn't have to actually sue -- getting an ominous letter from a lawyer is often enough to scare into silence. On rare occasions, Trump has actually followed through on his threats, dragging critics and journalists through years of litigation just to make them spend money to defend themselves. He has never won one of these lawsuits and has boasted about wasting critics' time and money on defending frivolous lawsuits.



You may not like the press, and you may think that some of them deserve some pushback. But the law that protects the press protects you, and it protects our democracy. It requires that public figures, like Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, prove that someone knew they were lying or simply didn't care whether what they were reporting was true. There's breathing room to make mistakes, but not outright lies. Trump has often pursued or threatened lawsuits which would punish people for making mistakes, having an opinion, or even telling the truth.



If you're a Trump supporter, imagine a President Clinton with the power to sue or imprison you without having to prove that you knowingly lied. That's the law that Trump wants to change.



After all -- they're just words, right? Donald Trump wants to change the law that protects your right to question and to criticize government leaders. Our democracy is dependent upon the ability to raise questions about our elected officials without fear of being imprisoned or punished by lawsuits. Trump, however, has systematically used baseless threats of frivolous lawsuits to deter people from criticizing him -- even during this campaign . Many of these threats are over tepid criticism or facts that are undeniably true -- just take a look at the list below.Trump knows that he doesn't have to actually sue -- getting an ominous letter from a lawyer is often enough to scare into silence. On rare occasions, Trump has actually followed through on his threats, dragging critics and journalists through years of litigation just to make them spend money to defend themselves. He has never won one of these lawsuits and has boasted about wasting critics' time and money on defending frivolous lawsuits.You may not like the press, and you may think that some of them deserve some pushback. But the law that protects the press protects you, and it protects our democracy. It requires that public figures, like Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, prove that someone knew they were lying or simply didn't care whether what they were reporting was true. There's breathing room to make mistakes, but not outright lies. Trump has often pursued or threatened lawsuits which would punish people for making mistakes, having an opinion, or even telling the truth.If you're a Trump supporter, imagine a President Clinton with the power to sue or imprison you without having to prove that youlied. That's the law that Trump wants to change.After all -- they're just words, right?