President Donald Trump has escalated his confrontation with the Center for American Progress (CAP) by threatening a $5 billion (£3.7 billion) defamation lawsuit over its findings on National Guard deployments.
The think tank's July analysis concluded there was no evidence the troops reduced violent crime in key cities, a claim the president has framed as little more than an expression of hurt feelings rather than objective research.
His personal attorney issued a formal demand for retraction by last Friday, which the organisation firmly rejected.
Trump Lawyer Issues Formal Demand
Trump's personal attorney Alejandro Brito sent a nine-page letter on Monday requiring the CAP to withdraw its report, issue an apology and provide financial compensation.
The deadline expired at 5 p.m. on Friday without compliance. Brito argued the analysis went beyond differing conclusions to accuse the president of knowingly misleading the public.
CAP president Neera Tanden described the threat as baseless and an attempt to silence independent research. The organisation stood by its work, stating it would 'neither cower nor bend'.
The letter marked an intensification of Trump's earlier social media criticism of the study as a 'radical left scam'. CAP's report examined data from Washington, Los Angeles and Memphis, finding pre-existing downward trends in crime that predated the deployments.
Researchers used homicide, violent crime and gun victimisation figures stretching back to 2023. They projected the operations could cost taxpayers more than £1.2 billion ($1.7 billion) if continued through the end of 2026.
CAP Analysis Challenges Crime Reduction Claims
Published on 13 July, the CAP study analysed interrupted time-series data across multiple sources and found no statistically significant effect from the National Guard presence on crime rates.
Violent crime had already fallen by an average of 14 per cent and murders by 22 per cent in relevant cities in the year before most deployments began. The report suggested the primary goal was never crime reduction but rather a broader assertion of federal authority.
Trump has repeatedly claimed the deployments delivered sharp drops in violence and has cited them as evidence of successful policy in public appearances. Tanden emphasised that the findings rested on rigorous evidence-based research applicable under any administration.
CAP's attorney indicated readiness to defend the analysis in court if necessary, noting that truth cannot constitute defamation. The White House offered no substantive comment when approached about the letter.
Deployments began in Los Angeles in June 2025 and expanded to Washington in August that year, with further operations in Memphis and elsewhere. Additional cities faced threats of similar interventions during the same period.
Deadline Passes Without Retraction
As of Monday 24 August 2026 the threatened suit has not yet been filed, though the deadline for compliance has long passed. Trump's public remarks continue to portray the CAP conclusions as politically motivated attacks rather than data-driven assessments. The think tank maintains its right to publish inconvenient facts under the First Amendment.
Independent analysis of the underlying crime statistics remains available on CAP's website for public scrutiny. Observers note the episode forms part of a wider pattern of legal challenges directed at critics of administration policies.
The National Guard remains active in several cities under federal direction, with costs continuing to accumulate. CAP has reiterated that disagreements over policy should be settled through debate rather than litigation threats.
