Donald Trump Threatens Think Tank With $5 Billion Lawsuit

President Donald Trump threatened the Center for American Progress with a $5 billion defamation lawsuit following a July 13 report on the deployment of the National Guard to cities such as Washington, Los Angeles, and Memphis. The report characterized the deployments as a "dangerous power grab" and concluded they had little effect on reducing violent crime.

Through his lawyer, Alejandro Brito, Trump demanded a full retraction, an apology, and financial compensation by Friday, alleging the report contained malicious and false statements. Neera Tanden, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, rejected these demands and asserted that the research was evidence-based.

The center's lawyer, Kevin H. Metz, described the accusations as "utterly absurd." The legal threat also drew criticism from the Cato Institute, which warned against using legal intimidation to silence policy disagreements.