FBN’s Charles Gasparino reports that Pres. Trump’s personal attorneys are considering legal action against MSNBC and journalist David Cay Johnston who revealed 2 pages of Trump’s 2005 tax return on Rachel Maddow‘s show Tuesday night.
Legal experts say any case would be a long-shot given First Amendment protections for journalists and an important Supreme Court precedent that dates back to the famous 1971 “Pentagon Papers” case. Trump would also have to show that the journalists were complicit in stealing his tax returns—which both Johnston and Maddow have denied.
“Trump’s lawyers could try and sue but they will get the crap kicked out of them in court,” veteran white collar attorney Stanley Arkin told Gasparino. “It’s the First Amendment. What are they going to sue them for? Stealing the returns? Nobody made any money out of it. Nobody was bribed.”
“There is no legal prohibition against journalists publishing these tax returns. It is protected by the First Amendment and Supreme Court precedent,” an MSNBC spokesperson told Fox Business Network. The White House would neither confirm nor deny Trump’s interest in moving forward with legal action.