Donald Trump sues Ann Selzer, Des Moines Register

Donald Trump files lawsuit against pollster behind 2024 Iowa poll

NOW. WE START WITH THE PRESIDENT-ELECT’S LAWSUIT AGAINST THE DES MOINES REGISTER AND ANN SELZER. THE FINAL DES MOINES REGISTER MEDIACOM POLL OF THE 2024 ELECTION CYCLE HAD A DEMOCRAT, KAMALA HARRIS, LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE, DONALD TRUMP, BY THREE POINTS. HE ULTIMATELY WON THE STATE BY MORE THAN 13%. KCCI CHIEF POLITICAL REPORTER AMANDA ROOKER IS HERE. AND AMANDA, THE LAWSUIT CALLS THE POLL ELECTION INTERFERENCE. IT DOES. JODI IN THE LAWSUIT SAYS THAT THE REGISTER AND SELZER’S POLLING GROUP VIOLATED IOWA’S CONSUMER FRAUD ACT THAT PROHIBITS DECEPTION WHEN ADVERTISING OR SELLING MERCHANDISE. THE LAWSUIT NAMES POLLSTER ANN SELZER, HER POLLING FIRM, THE DES MOINES REGISTER, AND ITS PARENT COMPANY, GANNETT. IN A LAWSUIT FILED MONDAY NIGHT. TRUMP’S ATTORNEYS WRITE THE ACTION, QUOTE, SEEKS ACCOUNTABILITY FOR BRAZEN ELECTION INTERFERENCE. THE PRESIDENT ELECT ALLEGING THE DES MOINES REGISTER’S IOWA POLL CONDUCTED BY ANN SELZER, WAS NOT ONLY A SIGNIFICANT MISS, BUT WAS, QUOTE, DECEPTIVE AND MISLEADING AND AN ATTEMPT TO, QUOTE, INFLUENCE THE OUTCOME OF THE 2024 ELECTION. AND IN MY OPINION, IT WAS FRAUD AND IT WAS ELECTION INTERFERENCE. YOU KNOW, SHE’S GOT ME, RIGHT ALWAYS. SHE’S A VERY GOOD POLLSTER. SHE KNOWS WHAT SHE WAS DOING. WHEN TRUMP ACCUSED SELZER OF, QUOTE, POSSIBLE ELECTION FRAUD ON SOCIAL MEDIA LAST MONTH, SELZER TOLD KCCI HIS CLAIM WAS WITHOUT EVIDENCE. THE IDEA THAT I MADE UP DATA IS, IS THERE CERTAINLY ISN’T ANY PIECE OF EVIDENCE THAT WOULD SUGGEST THAT. AND THERE’S EVIDENCE TO THE CONTRARY THAT I USE THE SAME METHOD THAT LED TO OUR POLL SHOWING LEADS THAT WERE HIGHLY ACCURATE. THE THE FIRST TWO TIMES THAT DONALD TRUMP RAN IN IOWA. HOW MUCH DOES THE FIRST AMENDMENT COVER HERE? YEAH. SO PUBLISHING THE RESULTS OF A POLL OR A STUDY OR AN INVESTIGATION THAT TURNED OUT TO BE WRONG IS NOT FALSE SPEECH. UNIVERSITY OF IOWA LAW PROFESSOR SAMANTHA BARBAS SPECIALIZES IN MEDIA LAW. STATEMENTS THAT TURN OUT NOT TO BE COMPLETELY CORRECT ARE GENERALLY PROTECTED BY THE CONSTITUTION. AS I UNDERSTAND IT, THERE IS NO SUBSTANTIVE EVIDENCE HERE, MERELY THE ALLEGATION THAT THIS WAS, YOU KNOW, INTENTIONALLY DECEPTIVE. SHE ALSO SAYS TRUMP’S TRYING TO SEND A MESSAGE IN THE LAWSUIT. HIS ATTORNEYS WRITE, QUOTE, THIS ACTION IS NECESSARY TO DETER DEFENDANTS AND THEIR FELLOW RADICALS FROM CONTINUING TO ACT WITH CORRUPT INTENT IN RELEASING POLLS MANUFACTURED FOR THE PURPOSE OF SKEWING ELECTION RESULTS IN FAVOR OF DEMOCRATS. IT’S PRETTY CLEAR THAT THERE IS A WAR ON THE PRESS, AND I FEAR THAT THE RESULT OF THIS WILL BE A CHILLING EFFECT, NAMELY, THAT MEDIA ORGANIZATIONS MAY HESITATE TO REPORT CRITICALLY ON TRUMP FOR FEAR OF BEING CAUGHT IN THE CROSSHAIRS OF THESE LAWSUITS. A SPOKESPERSON FOR THE DES MOINES REGISTER RESPONDED IN A STATEMENT, WRITING IN PART, QUOTE, WE HAVE ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THE SELZER DES MOINES REGISTER PRE-ELECTION POLL DID NOT REFLECT THE ULTIMATE MARGIN OF PRESIDENT TRUMP’S ELECTION DAY VICTORY IN IOWA. WE STAND BY OUR REPORTING ON THE MATTER AND WILL VIGOROUSLY DEFEND OUR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS. THE LAWSUIT SAYS TRUMP IS ASKING THE COURT FOR DAMAGES, QUOTE, DUE TO THE NEED TO EXPEND EXTENSIVE TIME AND RESOURCES, INCLUDING DIRECT FEDERAL CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURES, TO MITIGATE THE HARM THAT HE CLAIMS HE SUFFERED. IT DOES NOT SPECIFY AN AMOUNT, BUT IT DOES SAY TRUMP IS SEEKING THREE TIMES WHATEVER THOSE DAMAGES ARE DETERMINED TO BE IN COURT. JO

Donald Trump files lawsuit against pollster behind 2024 Iowa poll

President-elect Donald Trump has filed a lawsuit against the Des Moines Register and an Iowa pollster for what he calls a “leaked and manipulated” poll released just days before the 2024 election. The lawsuit, filed late Monday night in Polk County, lists pollster J. Ann Selzer, the Register, and Gannett — the Register’s parent company — as defendants. It cites a section of the Iowa Code regarding consumer fraud.In the lawsuit, Trump alleges the Nov. 2 poll, which showed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris leading by about 3 percentage points, amounts to election interference.”The Harris Poll was no ‘miss’ but rather an attempt to influence the outcome of the 2024 Presidential Election,” a court filing reads.Just days after the poll, Trump won Iowa by more than 13 percentage points. The wide discrepancy caused Selzer & Company to launch a review about its 2024 poll “to raise any plausible question of what happened between Thursday night the previous week … and when the votes were tallied on Tuesday night.”Selzer announced later in November she would not continue conducting the Register’s Iowa Poll.Trump announced Monday he was planning to file a lawsuit.”In my opinion, it was fraud,” Trump said. “It was election interference. She’s gotten me right always, she’s a very good pollster, she knows what she was doing.” Lark-Marie Anton, a spokesperson for the Des Moines Register, said in a statement to KCCI, “We believe this lawsuit is without merit. We have acknowledged that the Selzer/Des Moines Register pre-election poll did not reflect the ultimate margin of President Trump’s Election Day victory in Iowa by releasing the poll’s full demographics, crosstabs, weighted and unweighted data, as well as a technical explanation from pollster Ann Selzer.””We stand by our reporting on the matter and will vigorously defend our First Amendment rights,” Anton said.» Download the free KCCI app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google PlayGet the latest headlines from KCCI

DES MOINES, Iowa —

The lawsuit, filed late Monday night in Polk County, lists pollster J. Ann Selzer, the Register, and Gannett — the Register’s parent company — as defendants. It cites a section of the Iowa Code regarding consumer fraud.

In the lawsuit, Trump alleges the Nov. 2 poll, which showed Democratic candidate Kamala Harris leading by about 3 percentage points, amounts to election interference.

“The Harris Poll was no ‘miss’ but rather an attempt to influence the outcome of the 2024 Presidential Election,” a court filing reads.

Just days after the poll, Trump won Iowa by more than 13 percentage points. The wide discrepancy caused Selzer & Company to launch a review about its 2024 poll “to raise any plausible question of what happened between Thursday night the previous week … and when the votes were tallied on Tuesday night.”

Selzer announced later in November she would not continue conducting the Register’s Iowa Poll.

Trump announced Monday he was planning to file a lawsuit.

“In my opinion, it was fraud,” Trump said. “It was election interference. She’s gotten me right always, she’s a very good pollster, she knows what she was doing.”

Lark-Marie Anton, a spokesperson for the Des Moines Register, said in a statement to KCCI, “We believe this lawsuit is without merit. We have acknowledged that the Selzer/Des Moines Register pre-election poll did not reflect the ultimate margin of President Trump’s Election Day victory in Iowa by releasing the poll’s full demographics, crosstabs, weighted and unweighted data, as well as a technical explanation from pollster Ann Selzer.”

“We stand by our reporting on the matter and will vigorously defend our First Amendment rights,” Anton said.

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