Supreme Court declines to hear Dershowitz $300M CNN suit

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a $300 million defamation lawsuit brought by attorney Alan Dershowitz against CNN, ending his legal challenge over the network's coverage of his remarks during President Donald Trump's 2020 impeachment trial. The court's majority denied Dershowitz's petition without comment, leaving in place lower court rulings that dismissed the case.

Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch dissented from the decision not to take up the case, reiterating their view that the court should reconsider the "actual malice" standard established in the landmark 1964 case New York Times v. Sullivan. That precedent requires public figures suing for defamation to prove a news outlet knowingly published false information or acted with reckless disregard for the truth. In a written dissent joined by Gorsuch, Thomas argued the standard "bears no relation to the text, history, or structure of the Constitution."

The dispute stemmed from Dershowitz's role on Trump's legal team during the Senate impeachment trial, which centered on allegations Trump abused power by withholding military aid to Ukraine to pressure for investigations that would benefit him...