The RNC and ex-Trump co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita are alleging they were defamed by The Daily Beast in a report about payments from the campaign.
Liberal news website The Daily Beast could soon face a defamation lawsuit brought by the Republican National Committee and ex-Trump co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita.
The RNC and LaCivita believe they were defamed by The Daily Beast in an October 2024 report that reported LaCivita was paid $22 million by the Trump campaign. The RNC and LaCivita say the sum was less, and it was used for things such as campaign advertising, as opposed to being pocketed by LaCivita, which they claim The Daily Beast “falsely” suggested.
Axios first reported that the RNC and LaCivita had readied a defamation suit against the Daily Beast and noted lawyers have written three letters, which have been obtained by Fox News Digital, demanding retractions of the article over the past few months.
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The Daily Beast stands by its reporting, although it added an editor’s note to the initial story admitting the article “mistakenly reported that LaCivita’s firm had received a total of $22 million” when the total was actually $19.2 million.
“The Beast is committed to following the money and reporting accurately on Chris LaCivita’s LLC, which received $19.2 million from the Trump campaign, the RNC and related super PACs, according to public records,” a Daily Beast spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
“We stand by our journalism and will defend ourselves vigorously if necessary,” the spokesperson continued.
While the Beast says it stands by its journalism, the liberal news organization has taken steps to resolve the ordeal before a lawsuit is formally filed.
The first letter was sent from the Geragos & Geragos law firm to Daily Beast general counsel Neil Rosenhouse on November 5, 2024. It claimed the initial report, along with “recycled allegations” repeated in other Daily Beast content, “center around the false and defamatory claim” that the RNC authorized, and LaCivita received, compensation in the amount of $22 million over the course of two years for his role in Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.
The letter stated the RNC and LaCivita had reason to believe The Daily Beast acted “with actual malice.”
Three days after receiving the initial letter, the Daily Beast added the following editor’s note to the report: “The original version of this article mistakenly reported that LaCivita’s firm had received a total of $22 million from Trump’s campaign and affiliated PACs. Based on a further review of FEC records, the correct total is $19.2 million. The Beast regrets the error. The article has also been updated to make clear that payments were to LaCivita’s LLC, not to LaCivita personally.”
The second letter came on November 12, 2024, when Geragos & Geragos told The Daily Beast its editor’s note was “entirely inadequate” and failed to remedy the damages inflicted on LaCivita.
“The remainder of the reporting has remained substantially the same, and despite the addition of the editor’s notes and corrections, it continues to falsely imply that Mr. LaCivita personally pocketed $19.2 million paid by the Trump campaign for campaign advertising,” the letter stated.
“The editor’s note in that article clarifying that $22 million went to LaCivita’s LLC and not to him personally does not remedy the overall defamatory messaging of the story – which depicts Mr. LaCivita as deceptively pocketing campaign money for his own personal gain and that he was and is on the verge of being ‘fired’ because of it,” the letter continued. “This entire narrative is completely false and a result of malicious and irresponsible reporting by The Daily Beast… we demand that The Daily Beast issue a retraction on all reporting regarding this topic.”
The third letter, sent on January 21, demanded that The Daily Beast “immediately and permanently” remove a podcast episode that discussed the report.
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In response, The Daily Beast deleted a segment of the podcast while continuing to insist it “stands by its reporting.”
The following note was added to the podcast description: “The Beast has deleted a segment that appeared on the original edition of this podcast with award-winning journalist Michael Isikoff. It concerned payments, revealed in FEC records, that Republican strategist and operative Chris LaCivita’s LLC collected from the Trump campaign and related super PACs. The interview included references to a sum of money larger than the actual amount, which was $19.2 million. The Beast regrets the error. For clarity of listening the Beast is removing the entire segment. The Beast stands by its reporting on this subject, which appears elsewhere.”
Attorneys for the RNC and LaCivita have demanded that The Daily Beast preserve all documents and communications related to the story ahead of “anticipated litigation.”
The Daily Beast declined further comment.
