# Sean Spicer Threat to Sue AP **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 29, 2018, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-spicer-threat-to-sue-ap/818774 "2018-07-29T18:17:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-spicer-threat-to-sue-ap/818774/1 "2018-07-29T18:17:38Z")
So the Associated Press, being by all accounts a news organization, reported an event. So far as I am able to determine, their [report](https://www.apnews.com/3ac9f138b0ea47d8a1552bdd7d12bf7e/Black-man-accuses-Sean-Spicer-of-hurling-racial-slur-at-him) was factually accurate. > [@](#): > > MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (AP) — A black man yelled at former White House press secretary Sean Spicer in a bookstore and accused Spicer of calling him a racial slur when they were students at a prep school decades ago. That’s the first paragraph. The second paragraph – the one that follows the first: > [@](#): > > Spicer was “taken aback” by the man’s “outrageous claim” and had no recollection of him or of being in school with him, his publicist said on Saturday. So it seems clear that the AP covered the fact that an accusation was made against a public figure, and that the public figure denied the truth of the accusation. This is reporting the news. Now Spicer, through his attorney, is [threatening to sue the AP](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/spicer-threatens-legal-action-over-ap-report/ar-BBLbFzN?li=BBnb7Kz): > [@](#): > > Spicer’s attorney Michael J. Bowe said in a statement Saturday night that the AP “recklessly republished a categorically false accusation about Sean Spicer.” No, Mr. Bowe. That’s not true. The AP was not remotely “reckless.” They accurately reported the truth: there was a man, at a book signing, that made an accusation. They took no position on the truth of the man’s accusation. They just said he made it, which in fact he did. This nonsense irritates me no end. You cannot prevail in a lawsuit in which your case is that a news organization correctly reported an event that happened. I suppose you might be able to win a suit against the accuser, Alex Lombard, but since you’re representing a public figure, you’d have to prove the accusation is false; he would not be required to prove it’s true, so even then you’d have an uphill climb. But you cannot possibly win against the AP. Idiot. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-spicer-threat-to-sue-ap/818774/2 "2018-07-29T18:23:48Z")
The goal isn’t to win, but you probably know that. The goal is to harass the writer and maybe make the writer and AP think twice next time. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-spicer-threat-to-sue-ap/818774/3 "2018-07-29T18:30:47Z")
I’m surprised this action by Spicer and his attorney is a surprise to anyone. After all, we have seen the President and his staff constantly rant about “fake news” when something they don’t like being made public is reported. This is not any different. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-spicer-threat-to-sue-ap/818774/4 "2018-07-29T18:57:22Z")
I endorse your statement: available evidence points to Sean Spicer being an idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-spicer-threat-to-sue-ap/818774/5 "2018-07-29T19:07:48Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > The goal isn’t to win, but you probably know that. The goal is to harass the writer and maybe make the writer and AP think twice next time. Exactly. Spicer is not doing this because he thinks he has a good case. He’s following the Trump model of litigation. Or the Scientology model. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-spicer-threat-to-sue-ap/818774/6 "2018-07-29T19:23:53Z")
Which makes one wonder: is there an app for suing the AP? But I thought Spicy had faded into history. Maybe he thinks his 15 minutes are still in effect. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-spicer-threat-to-sue-ap/818774/7 "2018-07-29T19:24:37Z")
I’m just pleased to see that Spicey is back in the news, whatever the reason. His antics never lack for unmitigated stupidity and craven invention whether regarding the [size of Trump’s inaugural crowd](https://money.cnn.com/2017/01/21/media/sean-spicer-press-secretary-statement/index.html) or [hiding in the White House shrubbery](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/05/10/as-trump-fired-comey-his-staff-scrambled-to-explain-why/?utm_term=.086e10cf787e). From his “Dressed by Men’s Warehouse” fashion sense to his unerring ability to consistently fumble even the most trivial of responses, he is a testament to the dream of mediocrity transcending ability though person connections everywhere. [BBC.com: “Sean Spicer’s most memorable moments at the podium”](https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-us-canada-40687686/sean-spicer-s-most-memorable-moments-at-the-podium) \“Nice boy but he’s got more nerve than a bum tooth!”\ Stranger ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-spicer-threat-to-sue-ap/818774/8 "2018-07-29T19:30:15Z")
> [@Bricker](#): > > So the Associated Press, being by all accounts a news organization, reported an event. > > So far as I am able to determine, their [report](https://www.apnews.com/3ac9f138b0ea47d8a1552bdd7d12bf7e/Black-man-accuses-Sean-Spicer-of-hurling-racial-slur-at-him) was factually accurate. > > That’s the first paragraph. The second paragraph – the one that follows the first: > > So it seems clear that the AP covered the fact that an accusation was made against a public figure, and that the public figure denied the truth of the accusation. This is reporting the news. > > Now Spicer, through his attorney, is threatening to sue the AP: > > No, Mr. Bowe. That’s not true. The AP was not remotely “reckless.” They accurately reported the truth: there was a man, at a book signing, that made an accusation. They took no position on the truth of the man’s accusation. They just said he made it, which in fact he did. > > This nonsense irritates me no end. You cannot prevail in a lawsuit in which your case is that a news organization correctly reported an event that happened. I suppose you might be able to win a suit against the accuser, Alex Lombard, but since you’re representing a public figure, you’d have to prove the accusation is false; he would not be required to prove it’s true, so even then you’d have an uphill climb. > > But you cannot possibly win against the AP. > > Idiot. Your second link, about Spicer threatening to sue the AP, turns out to be a bad link. Following the rules of the SDMB, I am posting the corrected link outside the quote box: [https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/spicer-threatens-legal-action-over-ap-report/ar-BBLbFzN?li=BBnb7Kz](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/spicer-threatens-legal-action-over-ap-report/ar-BBLbFzN?li=BBnb7Kz) ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-spicer-threat-to-sue-ap/818774/9 "2018-07-29T19:34:42Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Which makes one wonder: is there an app for suing the AP? > > But I thought Spicy had faded into history. Maybe he thinks his 15 minutes are still in effect. Maybe he thinks that the public cannot notice both of any two stories that are happening simultaneously, and that by stretching out his fifteen minutes, he can assist his former boss in deflecting attention away from the clusterfuck _du jour_. Infuriating as it is, he may be right. ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-spicer-threat-to-sue-ap/818774/10 "2018-07-29T20:09:18Z")
Spicer had his launch party for his book at a Trump hotel, which HE paid to host the event. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-spicer-threat-to-sue-ap/818774/11 "2018-07-29T20:29:33Z")
This action is mindbogglingly stupid. Not only can he not win, but the only case he can make is that the accusation is untrue. Which means that the attempt will result in an official court finding that the accusation is true. And probably also an official court finding that Lombard’s claim is also true. Plus, of course, the new story after the case, about how Spicer is a losing loser who lost against the AP. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-spicer-threat-to-sue-ap/818774/12 "2018-07-29T20:43:21Z")
Spicer can drop dead. What a worthless scumbag. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-spicer-threat-to-sue-ap/818774/13 "2018-07-29T20:44:29Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > Spicer had his launch party for his book at a Trump hotel, which HE paid to host the event. I hope no one at all buys it, and he goes completely broke - and disappears from public view forever. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-spicer-threat-to-sue-ap/818774/14 "2018-07-29T21:05:51Z")
What penalties, if any, can Spicer face for making this threat of a lawsuit? What penalties, if any, can Spicer face if he follows through with this lawsuit? Is there any anti-SLAPP policy implicated by his threats? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-spicer-threat-to-sue-ap/818774/15 "2018-07-29T21:15:31Z")
The only good thing is to, hopefully, see Melissa McCarthy return to SNL and give **more** deserved ribbings to Sean Spicer… ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-spicer-threat-to-sue-ap/818774/16 "2018-07-29T21:31:42Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > What penalties, if any, can Spicer face for making this threat of a lawsuit? > > What penalties, if any, can Spicer face if he follows through with this lawsuit? > > Is there any anti-SLAPP policy implicated by his threats? Probably not, unless and until he actually files something with a court. And then the actual wording of the filing would be key. IANAL, but the AP is likely completely safe from any civil consequences as a result of what they wrote about the incident. It looks like attention whoring on Spicer’s part, plain and simple. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-spicer-threat-to-sue-ap/818774/17 "2018-07-29T21:39:50Z")
All of y’all are wrong. The goal is to keep Sean’s name in the news and thus possibly help his book sales. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-spicer-threat-to-sue-ap/818774/18 "2018-07-29T21:51:01Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > I endorse your statement: available evidence points to Sean Spicer being an idiot. No thread about Spicer and his attempt to sell books should drop down the list without mention of his immortal prose description of his former boss: > [@](#): > > “He is a Unicorn, riding a unicorn over a rainbow." > **[Sean Spicer describes President Trump as a ‘unicorn riding a unicorn’ and...](https://www.nydailynews.com/2018/07/24/sean-spicer-describes-president-trump-as-a-unicorn-riding-a-unicorn-and-other-bizarre-excerpts-from-his-new-memoir/)** > > Sean Spicer is looking to set the “record straight” in his memoir on his White House days. President Trump’s former spokesman is speaking for himself now. Former press secretary S… ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2018, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-spicer-threat-to-sue-ap/818774/19 "2018-07-29T22:42:28Z")
I for one hope that Mr. Spicer goes through with the lawsuit and spends vast amounts of money on it, at least up to the point where he discovers that the case has no merit. Won’t someone think of the lawyers? ---
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2018, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-spicer-threat-to-sue-ap/818774/20 "2018-07-30T02:51:52Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > What penalties, if any, can Spicer face for making this threat of a lawsuit? > > What penalties, if any, can Spicer face if he follows through with this lawsuit? > > Is there any anti-SLAPP policy implicated by his threats? He can be required to be AP’s court cases. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sean-spicer-threat-to-sue-ap/818774.md?page=2)