From Dershowitz v. CNN, Inc., decided Friday by Eleventh Circuit Judge Britt Grant, joined by Judges Barbara Lagoa and Charles Wilson:
While representing President Donald J. Trump in impeachment proceedings before the Senate, law professor Alan Dershowitz gave a statement about the scope of impeachable offenses. That statement proved controversial, with many reporters and commentators characterizing it as out of bounds. Dershowitz now claims that CNN in particular, along with its on-air personalities, defamed him—intentionally misrepresenting his comments to tarnish his reputation.
For a public figure like Dershowitz to prevail, defamation law has long required proof of a speaker's actual malice: knowledge of or reckless disregard for the falsity of a statement. But here, the available evidence points to the reporters' sincere—if mistaken or even overwrought—belief in the truth of their accusations. Dershowitz has presented no evidence that shows otherwise. We therefore affirm the district court's order granting summary judgment to CNN….
Dershowitz represented Trump in January 2020 during his first impeachment trial. In that role he spoke twice on the Senate floor, first giving an opening statement on January 27 and then returning for questions two days later.
Dershowitz's response to one of those questions sparked this dispute. Senator Ted Cruz asked: "As a matter of law, does it matter if there was a quid pro quo? Is it true that quid pro quos are often used in foreign policy?" Selections from Dershowitz's remarks are excerpted below, with the entirety in the Appendix.
