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Passages

(4,328 posts)
Fri Apr 24, 2026, 08:23 AM Yesterday

Kash Patel Is Using MAGA's Favorite Tool to Muzzle the Free Press

By suing The Atlantic for defamation, the FBI director is leveraging one of Trump’s legal tactics to
tamp down free speech.


Eoin Higgins
April 23 2026, 2:48 p.m.

Smarting from the humiliation of a report published at The Atlantic about his time in office, FBI Director Kash Patel did what conservatives have done over and over in the age of Trump: He sued for defamation.

The Atlantic’s story detailed allegations about Patel’s mismanagement of the office and FBI staffers’ concerns that his behavior has become borderline dangerous. According to the magazine’s reporting, staffers have observed that the director frequently drinks to the point of intoxication and has been unreachable behind closed doors multiple times, at one point necessitating agents breaking down a door. In his lawsuit, Patel said that the allegations are demonstrably false.

Patel’s case — which names the publication and the writer as defendants and demands $250 million in damages — doesn’t appear very strong; it’s unlikely he’ll win in court. But a legal victory isn’t necessarily the goal. Such lawsuits apply financial pressure and ensure newsrooms think twice before publishing critical articles in the future.


For all the modern right-wing movement’s bleating about its commitment to free speech, in practice they’re anything but, with a demonstrated penchant for using the legal system as a cudgel against people who say things they don’t like. Known as strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPP, they are a tool of the powerful — and have multiple levels of use.
https://theintercept.com/2026/04/23/kash-patel-atlantic-lawsuit/

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Kash Patel Is Using MAGA's Favorite Tool to Muzzle the Free Press (Original Post) Passages Yesterday OP
Fascists. NewHendoLib Yesterday #1
That's what I believe they are too. Passages 22 hrs ago #5
Shoving a steel toed jackboot into the mouth to squelch and silence freedom of speach...What is a SLAPP Lawsuit ? magicarpet Yesterday #2
Thank you, that is a great link. Passages 22 hrs ago #4
. magicarpet 22 hrs ago #9
What is it they say, "a hit dog will holler" Walleye 23 hrs ago #3
I don't doubt it either. Passages 22 hrs ago #6
Slap suit Javaman 22 hrs ago #7
They're always trying to intimidate people/organizations. Passages 22 hrs ago #8
And they always do it in the most inane and inept ways possible nt Javaman 21 hrs ago #10

magicarpet

(19,028 posts)
2. Shoving a steel toed jackboot into the mouth to squelch and silence freedom of speach...What is a SLAPP Lawsuit ?
Fri Apr 24, 2026, 09:08 AM
Yesterday

Ask Google,... What is a SLAPP Lawsuit ?

Strategic lawsuits against public participation (also known as SLAPP suits or intimidation lawsuits),[1] or strategic litigation against public participation,[2] are lawsuits intended to censor, intimidate, and silence critics by burdening them with the cost of a legal defense until they abandon their criticism or opposition.[3]

In a typical SLAPP, the plaintiff does not normally expect to win the lawsuit. The plaintiff's goals are accomplished if the defendant succumbs to fear, intimidation, mounting legal costs, or simple exhaustion and abandons the criticism.[4] In some cases, particularly in the context of investigative journalism, repeated frivolous litigation against a defendant may raise the cost of directors and officers and other liability insurance for that party, interfering with an organization's ability to operate.[5][6] A SLAPP may also intimidate others from participating in the debate. A SLAPP is often preceded by a legal threat. SLAPPs bring about freedom of speech concerns due to their chilling effect and are often difficult to filter out and penalize because the plaintiffs attempt to obfuscate their intent to censor, intimidate, or silence their critics.

Link,..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_lawsuit_against_public_participation

++++++++++

John Oliver,... Last Week Tonight,.. explains SLAPP Lawsuits,...

?si=BGs6jcn0Ttf4edV2

Walleye

(45,155 posts)
3. What is it they say, "a hit dog will holler"
Fri Apr 24, 2026, 09:26 AM
23 hrs ago

I gotta believe every word of this article is true, the way he’s reacting

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