Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Alejandro Brito, sent a letter to the Center for American Progress threatening legal action demanding the organization retract a policy analysis, according to reporting from the New York Times on Friday. The threatened lawsuit seeks $5 billion in damages.
The report in question, released 13 July, examined the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard personnel to Washington DC, Memphis, and Los Angeles. According to the analysis, the deployments, which cost an estimated $1.7 billion, failed to produce measurable reductions in crime compared to other cities. The research found that crime decreased at statistically similar rates in cities with and without National Guard intervention, and noted that violent crime had begun declining prior to the administration taking office in 2025.
In his demand letter, Brito argued that the report’s conclusions conveyed to readers that the president had deceived the public, manipulated crime statistics for political purposes, and misrepresented the results of the operation. The legal threat was issued in Trump’s personal capacity rather than on behalf of the federal government.
The Center for American Progress responded by standing by its research. Organization president and CEO Neera Tanden stated that the report presented factual analysis based on crime data and characterized the lawsuit threat as an attack on free speech. Tanden argued that the First Amendment protects publication of facts and analysis that contradict administration positions. The center further contended in its response that the report concerns crime statistics and government actions rather than personal statements about the president himself, adding that its conclusions cannot constitute defamation.
The White House declined to comment substantively when asked about the matter, requesting only to see the letter. The Center for American Progress, founded in 2003, describes itself as a leading liberal research organization.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI