President Donald Trump is charging libel to prevent the publication of Michael Wolff’s book on Trump’s first year in office, Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House. Former Trump adviser, Steve Bannon is quoted in the book saying that Trump was not prepared and unable to grasp basic policy details. (Variety, January 4, 2018, by Ted Johnson)
Trump’s lawyers sent Wolfe and his publisher a cease-and-desist letter to block the book’s release scheduled for the week of January 8 saying the book contains actual malice, as defined in the landmark Supreme Court case, Times v. Sullivan, “a reckless disregard for the truth or falsity” of the information. (New York Daily News, January 4, 2018. by Terence Cullen)
Some legal experts voiced skepticism about the strength of Trump’s case. Ruthann Robson, Constitutional Law Prof Blog, January 4, 2018, wrote that besides Times v. Sullivan, the Pentagon Papers Case was relevant. In that decision, in a 6-3 vote the Supreme Court soundly rejected the government’s attempt at prior restraint.