President Trump on Sunday night called for tougher libel laws to counter “false statements.”
In a call to Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, Trump was asked about attorney Michael Avenatti, who represented a Kavanaugh accuser with a claim “so preposterous that they dissipated on their own,” and whether they should be held accountable “for the falsehoods.”
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“Should there be consequences to those people who promoted falsehoods?” asked Judge Jeanine. “When you look at that lawyer Avenatti, the allegations that he was promoting when he brings out this alleged victim were so preposterous that they dissipated on their own. Should this person be held for the falsehoods, not just in terms of grievances with the bar association, but even beyond that?” (RELATED: Alan Dershowitz: Kavanaugh Accuser Represented By Avenatti Should Be Investigated By FBI For Lying)
“Well, he made false accusations about me on another matter — totally false, a joke,” Trump responded. “It’s just a disgrace they are able to do it. I would love to see our libel laws get toughened up so you can take people [to court]. But he made the same thing, totally false statements. You look at what happened and yes, I think they should be held liable. They should be held to the highest standard. You can’t go around and whether it’s making up stories or making false statements about such an important position, you can’t do that.”
“You destroy somebody’s life,” he continued. “There were many, many false things that were said about a very fine man that would have destroyed his family if this didn’t happen.”
