http://www.newsbug.info/news/nation/how-...0ae13.html
Today the Supreme Court said it would not consider a defamation case involving Bill Cosby. But the announcement came with a twist: Justice Clarence Thomas called for a reconsideration of the nation's libel laws.
Thomas, in a 14-page opinion issued Tuesday, agreed with the court's decision not to take McKee's case. But he used it as an opportunity to call for a review of libel standards for public figures.
In a landmark 1964 case, New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, the Supreme Court ruled that public figures must prove that a statement about them was made with "actual malice," or a disregard for whether it is false, in order to succeed in defamation cases.
McKee was unable to prove actual malice so her case could not proceed, Thomas wrote. But Thomas said the court should question this precedent and suggested the justices should, with a different case, reconsider New York Times Co. v. Sullivan.
President Donald Trump, who often complains about the media, has called for changing libel laws. It's very convenient for Justice Thomas to now call for changing libel laws. And this ruling comes less than a month after Trump met for an hour in the White House with Thomas and his wife.
Last month, the New York Times reported that Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, met with Donald Trump at the White House to lobby for patronage jobs. Thomas and her far-right associates also reportedly conveyed a litany of conservative complaints to the president, condemning military service by transgender people and women as well as marriage equality. But the main purpose of the meeting, according to the Times, was graft: Thomas wants the Trump administration to hire more of her friends and believes the president’s aides are blocking their appointment.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019...grift.html