Washington Post files to dismiss Covington Catholic teen's defamation lawsuit
Sarah BrookbankCINCINNATI – The Washington Post's legal team has asked for the dismissal of the $250 million lawsuit filed against them by Covington Catholic student Nick Sandmann.
The motion to dismiss was filed in federal court on Tuesday.
Nick, a 16-year-old Covington Catholic student, was thrust into the national spotlight when videos of him and his classmates interacting with others outside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., went viral in January.
Nick's legal team filed a similar lawsuit against CNN and sent dozens of letters requesting national media outlets and public figures to preserve evidence such as internal emails for potential lawsuits.
In the motion to dismiss, the Washington Post notes that the label suit only cites early news articles that "included the observations and perspectives of the principal Native American participant in the incident" and others.
More:Covington Catholic teen's team files $250M suit against the Post
"It was neither false nor defamatory, however, for the Post to report the comments of eyewitnesses, including the only participants who were speaking publicly about the matter on the day that videos of the event went viral on the internet," the motion said.
"Newspapers are often unable to publish a complete account of events when they first come to light. Stories often develop over time, as more witnesses emerge."
The motion said that most of the statements that referred to Nick were statements of the subjective feelings and motivation Nathan Phillips, the Native American Elder who is seen in videos with the Covington Catholic students.
"That man was entitled to offer his subjective point of view, and the Post had a right to report it – as it had a right to report the initial condemnation of the students’ behavior by the responsible diocesan and school officials," the Washington Post said.
In the initial lawsuit filed by Nick's legal team, his attorneys claim that the Post ignored "basic journalist standards" and published defamatory stories about Nick because it wanted to advance its biased agenda against President Donald Trump.
"Politics has nothing to do with this case, and law warrants its dismissal," the Post's legal team said.
The Post does admit that the articles "may not have been flattering" of the students, but they don't rise to defamation. The Post said its overall coverage was accurate and "ultimately favorable" to Nick.
