DES MOINES – Legal authorities from various political backgrounds suggest that President-elect Donald Trump’s recent legal action against the Des Moines Register is likely founded on a misinterpretation of Iowa law and may not succeed in court.

On December 16, Trump initiated a lawsuit against the Register, its parent company Gannett, and well-known Iowa pollster Ann Selzer, claiming breaches of the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act. The legal action refers to a poll released by the Register in early November, which reportedly downplayed Trump’s support, indicating that Vice President Kamala Harris was leading Trump by three points in Iowa—just before Trump ultimately won the state by a margin of 13 points.

Trump is claiming that the poll was misleading and constituted election interference. The Register has maintained its confidence in the poll’s accuracy.

Various experts who have evaluated Trump’s lawsuit express skepticism regarding the legal basis. Samantha Barbas, a university professor specializing in the First Amendment at the University of Iowa College of Law, stated that Iowa’s consumer fraud statute is not suitable for Trump’s claims.

“The Iowa Consumer Fraud Act is designed to protect consumers purchasing goods or services, not for those accessing news or information,” Barbas explained. “Therefore, this interpretation seems quite implausible. To my knowledge, other than Trump’s current case and a similar ongoing case he has in Texas, there hasn’t been a precedent of suing newspapers under a consumer fraud law based on unfavorable coverage.”

The pending Texas case involves Trump filing a lawsuit against CBS News in November. He claims that CBS violated Texas consumer fraud laws by allegedly misrepresenting a “60 Minutes” interview with Harris. That legal matter is still before a federal judge in Texas, with CBS seeking to have the case dismissed.

Iowa consumer law expert says lawsuit has no precedent

Bill Brauch, a retired lawyer and the former director of the Iowa Attorney General’s consumer protection division from 1995 to 2015, also expressed uncertainty about any previous applications of Iowa’s consumer fraud law in this manner.

“In my 30 years of practicing law, I’ve never seen anyone sue a media outlet for publishing a story,” said Brauch, who currently chairs the Polk County Democrats.

Brauch further argued that a news article does not fit within the definition of “merchandise” under Iowa law, which prohibits deception concerning the sale of various items, including goods and services. He noted that the lawsuit does not claim Trump purchased a copy of the newspaper.

“It’s quite a stretch to argue that a disliked news article in a newspaper qualifies as consumer fraud,” he remarked. “Who exactly is the deceived consumer in this case? How is Trump claiming to be defrauded?”

Washington court dismissed similar claims against Fox News

Eugene Volokh, a professor at UCLA and a fellow at the Hoover Institution, shared insights on December 18 for Reason, a libertarian publication. He highlighted that “the First Amendment typically prevents states from holding individuals accountable for misleading or outright false political speech, particularly in newspapers that are commercially distributed—especially regarding predictive opinions regarding public sentiment towards a candidate.”

Volokh mentioned a 2020 Washington state court case where a group sued Fox News, arguing that remarks from hosts, such as Sean Hannity, which downplayed the severity of COVID-19, violated the state’s consumer protection laws. Both the district and appellate courts rejected this lawsuit, ruling that opinions on significant public issues are protected under the First Amendment.

“There are historically acknowledged exceptions to First Amendment protections for knowing falsehoods, including defamation, fraud, and perjury. However, these are specifically defined exceptions,” Volokh remarked. “Defamation pertains to deliberate (or in some cases negligent) falsehoods harming a person’s reputation, fraud relates to requests for money or valuable items based on false statements, and perjury is confined to lies told under oath. There isn’t a broad governmental authority to penalize political falsehoods outside of these limited exceptions.”

Lawsuit reflects ongoing tensions between Trump and media, says professor

Barbas remarked that Trump’s legal actions against media outlets are part of a broader pattern of legal threats targeting the press.

Recent lawsuits directed at media outlets have primarily focused on allegations of defamation. One notable case involved ABC News, where anchor George Stephanopoulos was accused of incorrectly claiming that Trump was found liable for rape. ABC settled this lawsuit for $15 million earlier in December.

“Defamation law typically doesn’t apply here, as this would require proof that someone’s reputation was damaged. Trump can’t argue that a poll indicating he was trailing harmed his reputation,” she explained. “Thus, his legal team came up with this unusual argument of consumer fraud.”

Barbas noted that regardless of the merits of the ongoing lawsuit—which is currently before a federal judge in Iowa—the threat of litigation can suppress media organizations. “Trump and his supporters have made several threats recently towards news outlets and book publishers, primarily indicating they may file defamation lawsuits for unfavorable coverage. The settlement with ABC shows that he can pressure news organizations into submission,” she stated. “This has likely given him more confidence, as suggested by this Iowa lawsuit. I expect to see more lawsuits like this in the future.”

Nicholas A. Klinefeldt, an attorney representing the Des Moines Register related to this matter, emphasized that the core issue revolves around the First Amendment’s protection of press freedom, rather than Iowa’s consumer fraud statute. “In Iowa, elections aren’t products that can be purchased. Trump’s attempt to stretch the Iowa Consumer Fraud Act to assert his bizarre theories on election interference will not succeed,” Klinefeldt said. “This act was designed to protect consumers in Iowa, not to serve as a weapon against the press. We are confident that Trump’s claims will fail.”

The Trump presidential transition team did not reply to a request for comments.

William Morris reports on court cases for the Des Moines Register. You can contact him at wrmorris2@registermedia.com or 715-573-8166.