Trump Vows to Sue Fox News Over Attack Ad

President Donald Trump is seen before the start of a Fox News virtual town hall meeting from the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, on March 24, 2020. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Former President Donald Trump suggested he would sue Fox News and the Lincoln Project after the network aired the group’s attack ad against the former president.

“The ... Lowlifes of the Lincoln Project are back on, where else, Fox News,” Trump wrote on social media. “I thought they ran away to the asylum after their last catastrophic campaign, with charges made against them that were big time sleaze, and me getting many millions more votes in 2020 than I got in 2016.”

Trump accused Fox News and top executive Paul Ryan, a former House speaker, of only having “high standards for ‘Trump’ ads, but not for anyone else.” He added,  “The Perverts should not be allowed to ‘false advertise,’ and Fox News should not allow it to happen. See you all in Court!!!”

The Epoch Times has contacted Fox News and the Lincoln Project for comment.

Rick Wilson, the controversial co-founder of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, dismissed Trump’s remarks on Twitter. In a profanity-laced video, Wilson told Trump to “go for it ... come at me. I can’t wait. We’re delighted by the thought you would try to sue us, Donald.”

“You’re not going to sue anybody,“ he wrote, adding, ”If you want to try and sue us, Donald, go for it.”

Media Reports

The Lincoln Project drew criticism last year after several former employees sought to be freed from a nondisclosure agreement with the organization in order to speak about alleged sexual harassment and misconduct. It came after the New York Times published a report in which 21 men accused Lincoln Project operative John Weaver, who formerly advised Sen. John McCain and John Kasich, of sexual harassment.

The anonymous individuals in February 2021 demanded that the organization release them in order to speak openly about alleged  “harassment perpetuated“ by Weaver ”that we have experienced or witnessed” and other claims.

Weaver co-founded the Lincoln Project super PAC, which is explicitly opposed to Trump, in 2019. He took a leave of absence from the group in 2020 and hasn’t returned.

In an interview with Axios, he acknowledged some of the messages he sent that led to the controversy.

Later in 2021, the Lincoln Project again drew fire when it confirmed that it was responsible for sending five men dressed in white and holding tiki torches to a campaign stop to back then-Virginia gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin. Youngkin, a Republican, eventually won the governor’s seat, defeating former Democrat Gov. Terry McAuliffe.

“Today’s demonstration was our way of reminding Virginians what happened in Charlottesville four years ago, the Republican Party’s embrace of those values, and Glenn Youngkin’s failure to condemn it,” the project said in a statement late last year.

Meanwhile, Trump has been critical of Fox News for what he says is a drift towards leftism. The former president has often targeted on-air personalities, namely former anchor Chris Wallace, who left the network for CNN.