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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsKash 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 Trumps legal tactics totamp 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 Atlantics story detailed allegations about Patels mismanagement of the office and FBI staffers concerns that his behavior has become borderline dangerous. According to the magazines 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.
Patels case which names the publication and the writer as defendants and demands $250 million in damages doesnt appear very strong; its unlikely hell win in court. But a legal victory isnt 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 movements bleating about its commitment to free speech, in practice theyre anything but, with a demonstrated penchant for using the legal system as a cudgel against people who say things they dont 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/
NewHendoLib
(61,877 posts)Passages
(4,328 posts)magicarpet
(19,028 posts)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
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John Oliver,... Last Week Tonight,.. explains SLAPP Lawsuits,...
Passages
(4,328 posts)Walleye
(45,155 posts)I gotta believe every word of this article is true, the way hes reacting
Passages
(4,328 posts)Javaman
(65,911 posts)Itll get thrown out or itll be ended before it gets to discovery