A New York federal district judge ruled found that the National Jewish Democratic Council did not defame Las Vegas gambling czar Sheldon Adelson in a website post on alleged prostitution in Adelson’s Macau casinos. The judge wrote that the council speech consisted of reports of a judicial proceeding and opinions protected under the First Amendment. (Bloomberg News, September 30, 2013, by Bob Van Voris)
The post cited a lawsuit by a former Adelson employee who claimed that Adelson approved of prostitution in Macau. The post also urged presidential candidate Mitt Romney to refuse campaign donations from Adelson. The judge wrote that the post was “patently partisan and political” so was clearly opinion. (Politico, September 30, 2013, by Tal Kopan)